


Secrets, lies, and the truth

by best_life_ever7



Series: Secrets series [1]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Drama & Romance, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:54:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 53,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27741067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/best_life_ever7/pseuds/best_life_ever7
Summary: Jack and Sam are finally together and meeting Sam’s family.  Drama unfolds as secrets are revealed, lies are found out, and the truth is told.
Relationships: Samantha "Sam" Carter/Jack O'Neill
Series: Secrets series [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2170089
Comments: 113
Kudos: 81





	1. Preparation overboard

**Author's Note:**

> Plot: Jack and Sam are finally together and meeting Sam’s family. Drama unfolds as secrets are revealed, lies are found out, and the truth is told.  
> Setting: Around season 4, not canon, just messed with the timeline a bit  
> Characters: Mostly centered around Jack, Sam, Mark, and Veronica (Onica/Ronnie at times...that will make more sense later), but others will make appearances  
> Disclaimer: Not my characters just taking them on a ride. Also not canon with the show. All mistakes are mine, and mine alone  
> Author’s note: This is my first time trying anything serious, I’m not good at writing descriptions. I’m well aware of that so please be nice with any reviews, thanks! Also I don’t think Mark’s wife’s name was ever mentioned in the show and we know nothing about her and her past so I made it all up. I hope y’all enjoy!

Chapter 1: Preparation overboard

“Stop fussing, everything is going to be fine,” Jack says as Sam is busying herself with all the small details of preparing the house for her brother’s arrival. Trying to get everything just right.

She gives him a look and says, “You don’t know my brother.”

Jack walks over to her and puts his hands on her shoulders, “Maybe not, but, I don’t think he’s going to care what color the table cloth is,” then he adds, “besides, they aren’t even staying here.” He says gesturing around the room. 

“I know, I know, it’s silly.” Sam says shaking her head. 

Sam had spent every free minute she had last week over at her house getting things just right. Washing sheets, dusting, making sure the dishes were clean, she even stocked the refrigerator. Now she’s spending every free minute rearranging Jack’s living room, and constantly changing the table cloth trying to get just the right color. She must have bought 20 of them Jack figures, all different shades and patterns, and not satisfied with any of them. He’s still not sure what was wrong with the plain white one he had on the table in the first place, or why Sam decided to focus so much on what color it is. He put his foot down when she came over with paint, insisting that the whole house needed to be done before her brother came. Jack was fine with her redecorating, and it’s not that he minded repainting, what he minded was that she was in a frenzy about it all. Her brother was only going to be here for the weekend, and only in Jack’s house for dinner one night, otherwise they were staying in Sam’s house. Most of their plans were to go out and do things, and hopefully bond.

Still holding her shoulders, Jack says, “I know you want things to go well, and for your relationship with your brother to improve, but you’re going a little overboard don’t you think?”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Sam says with a sigh, “It’s just, things with Mark have been so tense since our mom died, and even more so since I joined the Air Force. Only in the last couple of years have things started to get better, not great, but better. Then he wanted to set me up with his friend in Denver, he was so excited about the idea, and I said no and…..,” she shakes her head before finishing somberly, “you know the rest.”

Jack nods his head and says slowly, “Yeah, I know, but things are going to be okay.”

“Yeah, Mark is either going to get over it or you’re going to start reconsidering if all this drama is worth it and leave.” Sam says half joking, but inwardly scared that that’s exactly what will happen.

Jack pulls her into a hug and gently says, “I’m not going anywhere Sam.” Then he dips his head and softly kisses her lips. After pulling away he looks her in the eyes and adds, “Besides, ALL of my ex in-laws hated me, so I think I can handle your brother.”

Sam smiles up at him and says, “Thank you for being so patient.”

“You’re welcome.” he says, then jokes, “ Besides, your brother really will like me once he gets to know me,” Jack says, mocking her statement from when he first met her.

She smiles remembering back to the moment when she said almost those exact same words to Jack 4 years ago. “I hope you’re right.”

“I am. Though I have to say, you were wrong when you said that to me.”

Sam looks at him confused and says, “Umm, Jack, we’ve been dating for several months now, I think it’s pretty safe to say that you did like me once you got to know me.”

“Nope,” he says shaking his head “I loved you once I got to know you, I just couldn’t say that back then.”

The implication of what he just said makes Sam’s stomach fill with butterflies. Did he really mean that he’s loved her for that long? She knew he was attracted to her and maybe even had a crush, but she hadn’t realized that he was actually in love with her for that long.

She looks at him with glistening eyes and says, “That’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me.”

Jack looks at her and feigns nonchalance. “Yeah, well, don’t tell anyone. I have a reputation to maintain, you know.”

She laughs, “Right.”

Jack looks hurt, and asks, “What’s so funny?”

Still giggling, Sam says, “Oh nothing, it’s just, do you really think you have a tough guy reputation?”

“I don’t?” Jack asks, sounding shocked.

“I’m not sure how to say this, but no. Everyone knows the tough guy routine is just an act.” She says, playfully slapping his shoulder.

“Well, guess I’ll have to work on that.” Jack says exasperatedly, as Sam just laughs.

She looks at her watch and says, “Oh, I need to get moving if I’m going to get to the airport on time.”

Jack nods and says, “Ok, my keys are over there.”

“Got ‘em, thanks,” Sam says as she walks to the door. They had decided earlier that it would be best for her to take his truck to pick up her brother and his family from the airport. It’s much bigger than her car, plus all the luggage can go in the bed. Since they started dating, Sam spent most of her time at Jack’s house, however, they decided that while Mark and his family were in town, Sam would stay at her house with them.

“I’ll call you once I get to my house.” she says over her shoulder.

“Alright, and remember, don’t be nervous, it’s going to be alright.” Jack says as he leans forward and kisses her goodbye before adding, “I love you.”

She returns his kiss and smiles, and as she turns to go says “I love you too, see you soon.”


	2. Airport thoughts

Chapter 2: Airport thoughts

The airport is busy today, people coming and people going. The noise was almost deafening. She sits alone waiting for the boarding call as Mark went to grab them something small to eat and drink. 

As she sits there, she looks around and sees a couple with three children, all under the age of ten she notices. All three of the children are screaming and the parents look stressed out. Onica once again felt grateful that she talked Mark into leaving their two children at home with a trusted friend. Sam is going to be upset, but with what all is probably going to happen this weekend, Onica is sure Sam will understand. Laughing sarcastically to herself, she realizes that Sam will most likely forget all about the kids not being there. She continues her silent perusal and sees a group of twenty somethings, college students she reckons. They’re just laughing and carrying on, it looks like they are having a really good time. Probably going on one last summer vacation before school starts back in the fall. She watches them with envy as she wishes, not for the first time, that she felt that light and jovial.

Onica suddenly realized that for the past few months, since this trip got planned, that she hasn’t had a genuine smile. Mark hasn’t seemed to notice, as he’s been preoccupied with work and now with the fact that his little sister is dating her boss. Which she thinks would be none of his business, if not for the fact of just who it is that Sam is dating, but Mark doesn't know that yet. He’s going to find out, they all are, and then Mark will know the truth. A part of her is relieved that this will finally come out, it’s been a tough burden to bear. She’s not sure why she didn’t just tell him the truth from the beginning, she’s had so many opportunities, and let them all slip by. Mark isn’t a fool, he knows she was in a relationship before they met, she had told him that much. She had also told him that things had ended badly, though she didn’t say exactly what had happened. When Mark assumed her ex was to blame, she just stayed quiet and let him. At the time she figured it didn’t matter so she never bothered to correct him, but now she’s wishing she had. 

She’s always had a good relationship with Sam, they had hit it off instantly. Onica was aware of the issues that Sam and Mark have, and so she was the one who talked with Sam the most. Onica remembers when Sam got reassigned to Colorado Springs, she thought it was wonderful that she would be living so much closer to Calafornia, that it might help bridge the gap between Sam and her brother. And it did, for the most part, except when the Air Force came up in conversation, that always ended in an argument. 

Onica thought it was a little funny at the time, even joked with them that they were at least talking. Even still, it was Onica who made more of an effort to talk with Sam, they would talk at length at least two or three times a month. She remembers how excited Sam was with her transfer to Colorado, though she didn’t really understand what was so exciting about working underground in a mountain everyday, but Sam was excited and so Onica was excited for her.

She also remembers Sam talking about her team. She never really said anything too personal about them, but she could tell that Sam really liked working with them, especially ‘The Colonel,’ as Sam called him. Onica could tell that Sam was a little enamored by this Colonel, she noted how Sam’s voice would change every time she would talk about him, and how Sam would go quiet for a moment whenever Onica would ask about him. Onica thought it was cute at first, she even teased Sam about it. She found it especially funny when Sam would adamantly deny having a crush on ‘The Colonel.’

And then it happened, one day Sam actually said the colonel’s name, and Onica felt as though her world had stopped. How had this happened? What was she going to do? And a million other questions started floating through her mind. Since that day, Onica tried to subtly dissuade Sam from forming any real feelings for Him, but it was too late. The next thing Onica knew, Sam is telling Mark that she’s now dating this colonel. And now here she is, on her way to see Him, with no logical reason to get out of it.

She must have gotten lost in her recollections because the next thing she knows Mark is waving his hand in front of her face saying “Yoohoo.”

She shakes the thoughts away for now and says “Oh, Mark, sorry.”

“Are you ok? You seem distracted.” He says as he hands her the cup and a small bag.

She fakes a smile and says, “I’m fine, I guess my mind wandered a bit.”

“I’d say, I was calling your name for a good 30 seconds.” He replied.

She should just tell him the truth right now she thinks. It’s a good opportunity, the kids aren’t here so she has his full attention, the airport is busy so he won’t flip out, he’ll save that for when they are totally alone, but she just can’t bring herself to do it. Maybe it’s guilt, maybe it’s cowardice, maybe it’s both, or maybe it’s something else entirely, she’s not sure, so instead settles for, “Sorry honey, thanks for the pastry,” and gives him a small smile.

Mark looks at her and thinks he understands, “ You’re thinking about the kids aren’t you?” He said it as a question but means it more like a statement.

She takes a sip of her drink, a double chocolaty chip from Starbucks, and says, “I checked in with Tiffany, the kids are fine. Luke has been watching TV since we left and Aubry is playing with Madaline.”

Mark smiles, “Sounds like they’re having a good time.”

“Yeah.” She says as she opens the pastry bag and sees that it’s the raspberry swirl cake that she loves.

“Are you worried that Sam will be upset that we didn’t bring them?” he asks.

“I think she’ll be disappointed, she was really looking forward to seeing them. I also think she’ll get over it,” Onica says matter of factly. 

“Yeah, she will, maybe it’ll help her rethink some of her decisions too.” He says with a smug look before adding, “Besides, she’s not setting a very good example for them, I don’t want them growing up thinking that it’s okay to date their boss. Even if it’s not strictly against the rules, it’s just not a good idea.”

“Mark, you shouldn't punish the kids because you don’t agree with Sam’s decisions.” Onica reprimands.

“I’m not punishing them, besides, it was your idea to leave them at home.” He reminds her.

“I know, and I stand by that decision, but it had nothing to do with whether or not I agree with Sam’s choices. I just thought that given how you feel about it, it was better for them to not see that.” Onica says gently. 

“Well, if not getting to see the kids does help Sam reconsider some things, I say we use that to our advantage.” Mark replies.

Onica feels herself starting to get upset, but is she upset by what her husband is saying, or by her own actions - or inactions, she corrects herself. Either way she takes it out on Mark by saying, “How could you say something like that? She’s your sister for goodness sake, and she's an adult. We are not, under any circumstances, using OUR children to control and manipulate her. So get that thought out of your mind right now Mark Allen Carter.” She fires back at him. She feels like getting up and stomping off, but she’s in the middle of a busy airport and doesn’t want to make a scene.

“I wasn’t suggesting we use the kids to manipulate her, I was just saying that if we say she can’t see them until she makes better choices, it might help her. That’s all I’m trying to do...help my sister.” Mark says defensively.

“And you don’t see that as manipulation? No, we’re not going to threaten to keep the kids away from her. You might not agree with some of her choices, but I will not let you drag my kids into this.” Onica says forcibly, as she folds her arms across her body and turns away from her husband. A moment later, she hears him say a faint, ‘Okay’ and then they sit there in silence.

How could Mark possibly suggest such a thing? Onica also wonders if she could have overreacted, she knows her emotions are on high, and with every second that passes she’s closer to confronting her past. 

She’s halfway through her cake when she hears the boarding call for their flight and says to her husband of 12 years, “That’s us.”

He stands up and hands her his drink and pastry bag “Here, you carry this and I’ll get the luggage.”

She nods in response and they make their way over to the ticket line. She feels her heart rate increase with each step and is sure that Mark can hear it too, despite the noise all around. 

They finally get up to the woman scanning tickets, and she bids them a safe flight as they make their way through the tunnel and onto the plane. They easily find their seats towards the front, hers a window and his on the aisle. She slides into the cramped space and takes her seat as Mark stows the carry ons in the compartment above them. He squeezes himself in next to her and says, “I swear these rows get smaller and smaller every time I get on one of these things.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s not the rows that have changed sizes, dear.” She says teasingly, hoping to lighten the mood after their earlier argument. It seems to have worked as Mark smiles a little before responding. 

“Hrmph.” He knows he’s gained some weight over the years, and his stomach isn’t as hard as it used to be in his teens and early 20’s but he’s not what he would call fat. Though he has noticed that his loving wife has been making more salads lately.

The plane has a full complement of 175 passengers plus various flight attendants. The flight time is just under two hours, but to Onica, it feels like mere minutes. Most likely because she’s anxious about how things will go once they get to their destination. She looks over at Mark and sees that he’s nodded off, but is starting to rouse as they make their descent.

The plane lands without incident and when they are given the all clear, Mark makes a move to get up. Onica lays her hand on his arm and says, “May as well wait a few minutes, let some of these people clear out.” Though she knows she is simply delaying the inevitable by a small fraction of time, she just cannot help herself.

Not really understanding her logic, seeing as though they are sitting in the front, nonetheless, he does as she asks and waits. When there are only a few people left he says, “I think we’ve waited long enough.”

She nods and moves to stand. At 5’3’ and 120 pounds she doesn’t really have the kind of trouble that Mark, who stands 5’10” and 210 pounds does. As Mark gets the luggage down, she moves past him and leads the way through the tunnel and into the airport. With each step she’s feeling more and more anxious. She knows that Sam is there waiting to pick them up. As she steps off the tunnel and into the airport, she thinks sarcastically to herself ‘and now the fun begins.’


	3. Sinking feeling

Chapter 3: Sinking feeling

After finding a spot in the packed parking garage, Sam walks the distance to the entrance of the airport and immediately finds an information board. She scans the info and finds flight 486 on American Airlines and reads the status as ‘on time.’ She still has about 10 minutes before the plane is due to land, plus the time it will take her brother and sister-in-law to get their luggage, wrangle the kids, and make their way to baggage claim where they had agreed to meet. 

As she starts walking towards baggage claim, she feels herself getting excited, but also nervous. The last time she spoke with her brother, a few nights before, he again expressed his displeasure over the fact that she’s dating Jack. She hadn’t told Mark right away that she was dating anyone, after all, she and Jack were still in the initial stages of getting to know each other in this new way. However, after only a couple weeks, she knew for sure that Jack was the one, so she started thinking of long term plans. About three months into her relationship with Jack, her brother called her with an ‘opportunity of a lifetime’ as he had put it, when he offered to set her up with one of his best friends. She politely turned down the offer and told her brother that she was already seeing someone. She had hoped that he would let it go at that, but knew that he wouldn’t. Needless to say, he was not pleased, and now every time they speak, they end up arguing and he tells her how she’s ruining her life and how things will never work out the way she thinks they will.

She has spoken to Jack about all of this, especially since Mark and Onica decided to visit, she felt Jack needed to be prepared. Sam smiles as she remembers how supportive and reassuring Jack was. He had promised her that he could handle her brother and that he wasn’t going anywhere, no matter what.

So now, here she stands at baggage claim, hoping the weekend will be better than she’s thinking. She’s also hoping that having Onica and the kids around will help to temper Mark. 

Sam looks at her watch and it reads 19:46, and mentally notes that the plane landed a few minutes ago. She waits patiently, figuring she’ll hear the kids before she sees them. She’s really excited about seeing the kids. She hasn’t seen them in person for a few years. Luke is now 10 and Aubry is 8, she can’t believe they are that old now. She silently reprimands herself for not making more of an effort to visit them.

She is so lost in her thoughts that she is startled when a hand touches her shoulder. The soldier part of her wants to grab the unwelcome intrusion and throw the person over her shoulder and onto the ground. However, the rational human being part of her wins the battle, and she just swiftly turns around, staring into the face of her brother, Mark Carter.

“Mark!” Sam says in surprise, then adds, “You’re here, how are you?”

“I’m fine, thanks.” He says in reply.

Sam suddenly realizes that they are two people short and asks, “Where are the kids?”

He nods at Onica and says, “We decided to leave them at home.”

Embarrassed that she forgot to greet her sister-in-law, Sam steps over to hug her and says, “Onica, it’s so good to see you. How was your flight?”

Content to have been overlooked, and now nervous that she has to speak to the woman whose life is about to be turned upside down, Onica plasters on the best fake smile she can muster and says, “The flight was uneventful.”

“Well I’m glad you were able to make it. Why didn’t you bring the kids? I was looking forward to seeing them.” Sam says.

“Why don’t we get out of here and we’ll explain that.” Mark says as he turns to start walking out, then adds, “Where did you park?”

Sam, walking beside him says, “In the parking garage, this way, I’m on level 4.” And she proceeds to lead them out of the airport and across the street to the 7 story parking garage. 

They get off of the elevator on the 4th level of the parking garage and Sam leads them to a newer looking black Chevy Silverado Crew Cab pickup truck.

Looking impressed, Mark opens the passenger side door, pokes his head in and says, “Wow Sam, this is a really nice truck. I thought you liked smaller cars though?”

“I do, this is Jack’s truck. He let me take it because we thought the kids were coming and his truck has more space. All the luggage could go in the back and we could ride in the cab.” Then in a slightly irritated tone she adds, “but seems as though you didn’t bring the kids…” and lets the rest hang.

Picking up on her irritation Mark says, “I”m sorry, I know you were looking forward to seeing them.”

Getting a little more irritated Sam replies, “We just spoke on the phone the other day, you could’ve mentioned the fact that you weren’t bringing them. ”

Raising his voice, Mark growls, “With how things have been between us lately we thought it was best that the kids weren’t here.”

“Oh what, afraid they’ll see you acting like a judgmental jerk?” Sam says, sarcastically. Then she adds, “Besides, things are only the way they are because you won’t accept my choices.” Sam nearly yells.

Throwing his arms in the air Mark barks, “If you would make good choices, then I could accept them. And I’m not a jerk, Sam. I’m your brother and it’s my job to point out when you’re making a monumental mistake!”

Before Sam can make a reply to that, Onica says in her best mom voice, “Okay, that’s enough! Now get in the truck and shut up unless you have something nice to say.” And she proceeds to open the back passenger door and slide in.

Sam and Mark, both looking a little embarrassed at their outburst, got in as well. 

After everyone was buckled, Sam starts the truck and says in a calmer tone, “The plan was to have you and the kids stay with me at my house, but now that it’s only the two of you, I don’t see why we can’t all stay with Jack, his house is bigger so I’m sure he won’t mind.”

Feeling panicked, Onica shouts, “NO!” She thinks to herself that it’s awkward enough riding in his truck, she can’t imagine staying in his house.

Both Mark and Sam turn and look at her with puzzled expressions.

Onica recovers enough and says, “I, I mean, that would be lovely but, I um, I already gave the babysitter your home number and address, so I think it would be simpler to keep things as they are.”

Sam responds before Mark can, “Oh, okay, that’s fine.”

Mark turns back to the front and looks at Sam, “So, what’s the plan for this weekend?”

“I don’t know now. We thought the kids were coming so we planned things we thought they would like.” Sam says, looking over at Mark.

“Well, I guess we’ll just figure it out then.” Mark says.

“We better get going, we can call Jack once we get to my house.” Sam suggests.

“Oh, so he can decide everything for this weekend, or because he can’t be bothered to actually come see us in person?” Mark accuses. 

“He had a long week at work, but if you want him to come over, I’m sure he will. I can call him right now and I bet he’ll meet us at my house.” Sam says in reply, trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice. 

“I wouldn’t want to put him out.” Mark says sarcastically.

“Maybe we should just leave things as they are.” Onica interrupts from the back seat, then adds, “it seems simpler and easier for everyone.”

“Sounds fine to me.” Sam says, agreeing with her sister-in-law.

“Whatever.” Mark says, clearly irritated, then adds, “It’s not like we really need to get to know him anyways.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Sam asks, no longer trying to control her irritation.

“You have a pattern Sam. And a type. And that’s the problem. Jack is no different than Jonus, and do I need to remind of how that worked out?” Mark said accusingly, then adds, “That’s why I tried to set you up with my friend, to show you that you don’t have to get stuck with the same type of guy.” 

“How dare you.” Sam says with clear ire in her voice, then continues, “I’ll admit, Jonus was a mistake, I was young and naive, but Jack is nothing like him.”

“Sam,” Mark starts before being interrupted by his sister.

“I love him Mark, and after you and Onica leave, I’m moving in with him.” Sam states, matter of factly.

Mark whips around to face her and hollers, “Are you crazy? Moving in with him? I, I don’t even know what to say. You are out of your mind. It’s a bad idea Sam”

Furious now, Sam shouts, “And who are you to say that! You lost the right to have any say in my life the moment you turned your back on me.”

“Oh, that again?” Mark says, rolling his eyes.

“It’s the whole problem isn’t it? You didn’t like my decision to join the Air Force, but instead of supporting me like a good brother, you cut me out of your life.” Sam fires back.

“After you joined up you’ve made one bad decision after another Sam. Jonus, getting that motorcycle, and now dating your boss.” Mark says counting on his fingers.

“You know what, I’m going to drop you and Onica off at my house and I’m going to go stay with Jack. I can’t even stand to look at you right now.” Sam says and puts the truck in gear.

Sitting in the back and listening to their conversation, Oncia wishes desperately that she could sink into the truck seat and disappear. Things are so much worse than she thought. She thought Sam was still feeling out this relationship, but her oblivious sister-in-law just announced that she and Him, she can’t bring herself to even think his name, are planning to move in together and that they love each other. By the end of the weekend two relationships might be ruined, and it’s all her fault. Onica just closes her eyes and tries not to cry as Sam starts driving.


	4. The night before disaster

Chapter 4: The night before disaster 

The 45 minute drive from the airport to Sam’s house was filled with her and Mark bickering about this and that. Sam stating her displeasure about the kids not coming and Mark complaining that she didn’t even give his friend a chance. All the while Onica stares out the window trying to pretend she’s not here.

Though now that she was here, she knows it is only a matter of time before things turn south. Tomorrow they are to spend the day with Sam and him, a person whose name she can’t even manage to acknowledge. She cringes at how awkward this is all going to be. 

Suddenly a thought came to her and she nearly gasped out loud, but caught herself just in time. She mentally kicks herself for not having thought of this before. She is going to see Him tomorrow and she has no idea how to handle that. Onica has been so focused on how Mark and Sam are going to react that she hasn’t given any thought about how He will react. She knows that she and Mark can’t just walk into His house and she shouts, “SURPRISE GUESS WHO!’ She isn’t sure how this was going to go but she knows it needs to be handled carefully. If she can somehow catch him alone and speak to him first that would be ideal, but she doesn’t know how she can manage that. She feels her pulse quicken to the point that she actually worried she was having a heart attack. She knew she had to pull herself together, and had to do it now. 

If she is being honest, the ideal way for this to go is to just avoid the situation all together, but that isn’t going to happen. She figures that she has until the morning to come up with a plan for when she sees Him. With dread and resignation, she’ll just have to put on her big girl pants and face this head on, come what may. After all, she brought this on herself. She’d lied to Mark, and when she found out that Sam was working with Him, she still didn’t say anything. All these years, she could’ve spoken up but didn't, and now Sam is dating Him and this whole thing is a mess.

Onica is shaken back to the present upon hearing her name. 

“Onica!” Mark says, and from the aggravation in his voice she figures it’s not the first time he called her name.

“Yes?” she says and tries to smile.

“I called your name 5 times.” He says, confirming her earlier assumption. “We’re here, are you going to come inside or stay in the truck all night?” He added, his aggravation dissolving into amusement.

The thought of staying in His truck is not at all amusing to her, however, so she quickly gathers her bag and gets out. 

By the time Onica gets out of the truck and Mark grabs the luggage, Sam is already unlocking the front door to her house. 

After Mark and Onica step inside Sam says, “Everything you’ll need is here, I even washed the sheets”

“Well that was kind of you.” Mark says, sounding unimpressed.

Irritated again, Sam says, “Follow me and I’ll show you to the bedroom.”

Mark sets the carry ons down just inside the bedroom door and looks around. The room is small and sparsely decorated, his sister must not spend much time here he thinks. Probably too busy working he reckons and now….nevermind he doesn’t want to go there. They all walk back to the front of the house and Sam holds her right hand out to Mark, “Here’s the key to the house, and the key to my car.” She says and then adds, “You’re free to the car as you need.”

“Thanks.” is all Mark says as he reaches out and takes the offered items.

“Well, I’m gonna go, I’ll see you both tomorrow morning.” Sam says as she turns and walks to the door.

Getting irritated again Mark says, “So that’s it? We haven’t seen you in 4 years and now that we’re here, you’re just going to drop us off and leave?”

Trying to remain civil Sam says, “I told you, I can’t even look at you, so yes, that’s it. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Fine, see you tomorrow.” Mark says with clear annoyance in his voice. 

She really wants to scream or bash his head in, but settles for, “Despite everything, I really am glad that you’re here Mark.” Sam says, and then looks at Onica and adds, “I’m glad you’re both here.”

Sam then opens the door and walks back to the truck and gets in, Mark watches as she starts the engine and drives away before he closes the door.

Turning to his wife he says, “You’ve been quiet since we got here.”

‘I’ve been quiet for a lot longer than that, you’ve just been too busy berating your sister to notice,’ she thinks to herself, but doesn’t say aloud. Instead she says, “Sam was right, it has been a long day, and tomorrow will be even longer I suspect.”

“Yeah, I suppose.” Is all Mark can say. 

***

On the drive back to Jack’s house, Sam tries, and fails, to not think about her brother and this whole mess with him. The more she thinks about it, the angrier she becomes. When she pulls into Jack’s driveway she is ready to explode, how dare Mark judge her. She is so angry that she didn’t realize she slammed the truck door closed. Jack must have heard it though, because he opens the front door looking confused as she approaches.

“Here are your keys,” she says, roughly pressing them into his chest.

“Ow,” Jack says, taking hold of the keys and rubbing his chest. He closes the door and follows her into the kitchen as he mentally runs through the checklist of things she had asked him to do while she was out. Unsure if her bad mood was directed at him or if he was just the unfortunate recipient. Then a thought suddenly dawns on him, she was supposed to be at her house tonight, not his, so he asks carefully, “Are you alright?”

Sam finishes swallowing her gulp of beer and closes her eyes and growls, “I’m fine.”

Jack O’Neill, USAF black ops Colonel has been in some dangerous situations in his life. He’s been tortured, he’s been in prison, he’s even been killed, but this, standing before an angry woman who claims to be ‘fine,’ is the most dangerous situation of all. Past experience has taught Jack that when Sam, or any woman for that matter, says she is fine, she really isn't. The trick is knowing whether or not she wants him to ask about it. If he does ask, she might say she wants to be left alone, which would then cause yet another dilemma, however if he says nothing, she could claim that he’s not being sensitive. Whatever he does, he should tread carefully, otherwise, her bad mood would most definitely be aimed at him.

He can’t contradict her and say that she doesn’t look fine, that would result in a long speech about how he has no right to tell her how she feels. Telling her to calm down would have the opposite effect, and would in fact, result in his death. And he already reasoned that saying nothing at all and changing the subject, is not a good option, as he would likely be sleeping on the couch for a while, in his own house, nonetheless. No, he needs to say something to convey to her that he does care, but not sound pushy, and definitely not tell her how to feel.

After carefully considering his options, and deciding that there really is no good one, he settles for, “Do you want to talk about it?” he asks, deciding to leave it up to her if she wants to continue the conversation or not.

“No,” is all he got in response.

They stand in silence for a few moments, the only sound comes when Sam finishes her beer and slams the bottle down on the counter so hard that it shatters.

Jack hears her say something under her breadth that he didn’t quite catch as he moves closer to see exactly how big the mess is. He quickly notes that there are a couple bigger pieces on the counter and a few smaller pieces on the floor. He also notices that Sam is holding the palm of her right hand.

“Let me see.” He says with gentle concern.

“I’m fine,” she says, irritated.

“Sam,” he warns, this time not letting her get away with it. 

At his tone, she shows him her right hand, there is a good sized gash but it isn’t very deep.

“It doesn’t look too bad,” he says before adding, “I’ll go get you a bandaid, then clean this up.” 

He returns after only a minute and after he puts the bandaid on her hand he says, “Why don’t you go sit at the table and I’ll clean this up.”

She only nods in response.

It doesn’t take very long for Jack to put the bigger pieces into the trash, and get the broom and sweep the floor. Sam sits quietly the whole time. When he is finished, he puts the broom away and washes his hands before walking over to her and holding out his hand, indicating she should take it.

She takes his hand with her left and he pulls her into a hug. She melts into him and feels all her tension and anger dissipate.

“I’m sorry,” is all she says.

“It’s ok, the bottle had it coming.” He says, trying to lighten the mood.

His quip has the desired effect because the next thing he knows, she’s giggling. 

Backing off a little but still holding her hand, Jack asks once more, “Do you want to talk about it?”

Feeling a bit more calm, Sam says, “Mark is a jerk.”

“Because he doesn't like that we’re together?” He says it like a question but means it more like a statement.

“He thinks I’m ruining my life and destroying my career.” Sam says, looking at Jack.

“What do you think?” Jack asks her seriously.

“I think,” she pauses for a moment, then continues, “I’m happy, happier than I’ve ever been.” She says looking into his eyes, hoping that he can see the truth of what she just said.

Jack gives her a small smile and pulls her closer, his arms around her, holding her tightly. 

As she stands there in his arms, Sam can feel the stress fading away. She’s never felt so safe and secure as she does with him.

“They didn’t bring the kids,” Sam says as she rests her head on his shoulder.

“Oh, really? Why not?” Jack asks, stepping back and looking at her.

“Because,” she stops, unsure of how to say this so that Jack won’t think it’s his fault. She closes her eyes and tries again, “Because, they thought it would be best,” she finishes, looking away.

“Because of us, or because of me?” Jack asks

“Because of Mark’s attitude about it.” She says irritatedly.

“What does your sister-in-law have to say? Onica, you said her name is right?” Jack asks.

“Onica hasn’t said much about anything. She’s actually been much quieter than normal. I’m not sure what to make of it, but something feels off.” Sam says, shrugging.

“You think something’s going on? Like between her and Mark?” Jack asks.

“That’s what I thought at first, but I didn’t really get that impression. I’m not sure what it is, but something is definitely up.” She says, matter of factly.

“You could try and ask her about it.” He said thoughtfully. Then an idea occurs to him, “Hey, why don’t they just stay here if it’s just them? The only reason they were staying in your house is because we thought the kids were coming.”

Sam smiles and says, “I suggested that, but they insisted on staying at my house, well, actually, Onica, was the one who insisted.”

“Well, maybe she’s just nervous about how this weekend will go, after all, she’s been having to deal with all of this too.” He chuckles a little and adds, “Maybe she just wants to get this over with like you do.”

“Maybe, I just hope the weekend ends better than it began.” She says as she closes her eyes and leans her head back against Jack’s shoulder.

Now that Sam is calmer, Jack ventures to ask, “So, is Mark’s issues with us the reason why you’re here, and not at your house?”

Stepping back and looking up at him, Sam explains, “It’s not just his attitude about us, it’s his attitude toward me. Ever since I joined the Air Force, he basically stopped talking to me unless to tell me that he thought I was making another poor decision, in his opinion.”

“Sam, he’s your brother, he’s going to have opinions.” Jack starts, before Sam interrupts him.

“I know, and it’s not even that I mind his opinions. It’s that, he thinks his opinion is always right, and if I don’t go with it, then I’m making a huge mistake.” Sam says, shaking her head, then adds, “He just makes me so mad, ya know?”

“I know,” Jack says looking at her, then says, “But sometimes, you have to be the bigger person.”

“I know, I just wish Mark would be more reasonable.” Sam complains.

“Just give him time.” Jack soothes.

“How much time?” Sam asks, then adds, “He’s already had time, how much more could he possibly need?”

“I don’t know,” Jack says, then looks into Sam’s eyes, “but what I do know, is that you’re not going to get anywhere with him if you’re here.” He says gesturing around his house.

“Are you saying you want me to leave?” Sam asks, starting to feel angry again.

“No, I’m not saying that at all.” Jack says, shaking his head, then finishes, “ You’re welcome here anytime, you know that. But if you want to get through to your brother, then you need to be where he is Sam.”

Looking defeated, Sam says quietly, “I know.”

“The choice is yours Sam, I’ll support whatever you decide.” Jack says, as he kisses her gently. 

Sam returns the kiss and sighs, “You’re right, I should go back.”

She takes Jack’s hand in hers and pulls him along with her as she walks over to the door and says, “I guess I’ll need your keys again.”

He hands her the keys immediately and says, “Everything will be fine.”

“Yes, it will be, as long as you’re there.” Sam says, pulling him closer and kissing him soundly on the lips.

Once they both come up for air, Jack says, “I’ll see you in the morning, I love you.”

Smiling at him, Sam says, “I love you too.”

Jack stands in the door jam as Sam walks back to his truck, gets in, and backs out of his driveway. Man he loves that woman, he thinks to himself. Then he shuts the door and decides to call it an early night. 

***

Sam sits in the truck for a few minutes when she arrives back at her house. She’s sure Mark will have something to say about her coming back. She’s not sure why she lets Mark get to her so much, why can’t he just be happy for her? 

She finally gets out of the truck and walks to the front door. After taking a breath, she turns the door knob only to find the door locked. She already feels humiliated coming back after she stormed out, now she has to knock on her own door, but she swallows her pride and knocks anyways.

After a moment the door opens and Mark is standing on the other side, he says, “I thought you were staying at Jack’s?”

She knew it, she’s not even in the house yet and he’s already all over it. “Just move aside and let me in.” Sam says pushing Mark out of her way.

Mark shuts the door and follows Sam into the living room. Sam plops down in the big chair and Mark sits beside his wife on the love seat, both of them look at Sam.

“So, did the two of you have a fight and that’s why you’re back?” Mark asks, sounding smug.

“Actually,” Sam starts before being interrupted by a phone ringing.

Looking at his phone, Mark says, “Hang on Sam, I need to get this.” 

Mark stands and leaves the room as he answers the phone. Sam looks over at Onica and says, “Why does he have to be this way?”

“He’s your brother,” Onica replies, trying not to look or sound too uncomfortable.

Sam gets up and sits next to Onica on the small couch and says, “I know, and I appreciate that he’s concerned for my welfare, but he doesn’t need to be,” Sam says, stressing the last part.

“I’ll admit that Mark is being a little extreme,” Onica pauses, then finishes, “but he really does want what’s best for you, we both do.”

With a loud sigh, Sam takes Onica’s hand and says, “Thank you, I appreciate that, really, but I already have what’s best for me. I have great friends, I love my job, and I’m in the best relationship I’ve ever been in.” Taking her hand back, Sam continues, “Jack is amazing, I’ve never felt like this about anyone. He doesn’t try and change me or control me, he accepts me for who I am. I can’t wait for you to meet him, you’re going to love him Onica.”

Closing her eyes and trying to hold back tears, Onica says, “Sam, there’s something I need to tell you, I…”

“Well,” Mark busts in, cutting off whatever Onica was about to say, “you’ll be happy to know,” he pauses for dramatic effect, “I got the promotion!” Mark exclaims.

Standing up and smiling big, Onica hugs her husband and says, “That’s great sweety, I’m so proud of you.”

“Thank you, thank you,” Mark says, kissing his wife in celebration.

Sam stands and asks curiously, “What promotion?”

Looking all smug and proud, Mark announces, “I’m the new VP of Longwood Industries.”

“Wow, Mark, that’s great. Congratulations!” Sam says moving in to hug her brother.

Sam remembers when Mark first got his job at Longwood Industries. He was just an intern working there to get college credit. He made such an impression on the boss that he hired him as a helper to the sales team when his internship ended. Mark worked hard and in a year's time, he was a full on salesman. They sold a wide range of items, from computer equipment to cleaning supplies. Mark graduated college with a bachelor's degree in business management, and now here he was the new Vice President of the whole company. He really had worked his way up the ladder, Sam was proud of him.

“Thank you, you know, as the new VP I have the authority to hire a new technical analyst,” he says, raising his eyebrows at Sam.

Looking surprised, Sam asks, “Are you offering me a job?”

“It would be really nice working with you, Sam. Plus, I know how good you are with computers and stuff, you’d love it.” Mark says, then adds, “You’d get a good salary, a flexible schedule, and great benefits.”

“Mark,” Sam says, raising her hand and shaking her head, “Look, I appreciate it, really, but, I love my job and I’m not leaving it.” 

“Is it because of him?” Mark asks, rolling his eyes.

“No, Jack would support any decision I make, it’s because I don’t want to leave my job now. I mean, my entire life is here,” Sam says waving her arms around the room.

“At least think about it,” Mark says looking in her eyes pleadingly, “Please.”

“I don’t need to think about it Mark, thank you for the offer, but my answer is no.” Sam says with finality.


	5. The unexpected

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm new to this site so I'm still figuring out how it works. Thank to all who have looked at this story, I hope you enjoy it. I'm posting several chapters because the first 10 are already posted on another site so I thought I'd play catch up here. This story is already complete so updating shouldn't be an issue. Thanks again!!

Chapter 5: The unexpected

Although he had gone to bed early, it was nearly 0030 before Jack finally fell asleep, only to be woken up by a phone call at just after 0400. He jerks awake and begins searching for the phone, it isn’t on the receiver by the bed, so he turns the light on and finds it on the floor. It must have fallen during the night somehow. By the time he picks it up and answers it, he’s irritated that someone would have the audacity to call at this ungodly hour.

“O’Neill,” Jack says roughly into the phone.

He perks up when he hears the voice on the other end of the line. He listens for a moment then replies, ”Oh, is he alright sir?” Another pause, then, “That’s good news sir.” Jack nods his head and says, “Of course, sir, it’s not a problem.” Jack goes quiet for another moment as he listens again before replying, “Yes sir, you’re welcome, bye.”

Jack hangs up the phone and looks at the clock, 0407. He buries his face in his hands, Sam is not going to like this. He sighs, gets up, and proceeds into the shower to get ready, deciding he’ll call Sam after he’s dressed.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sam is startled out of an uneasy sleep by her phone ringing, she answers with a distracted, “Hello?”

“Hey,” she heard the voice on the other end say.

“Hey yourself, what are you doing up so early?” She asks the man she loves.

Jack takes a breath and all he says is, “Hammond called.”

She knows what that means, so she states simply, “You have to go in.”

She didn’t say it with accusation, but Jack could tell she is disappointed. He pauses for a moment, then with a sigh, he says, “His son-in-law was in a car accident on his way to work this morning,” 

“Oh, is he alright?” Sam asks, concern evident in her voice.

“Yeah, he's alright, but he got pretty banged up and the Drs want to keep him for a few hours to make sure he doesn’t have a concussion,” Jack answers her.

“Wow, I’m glad he’s alright. What does the General want you to do?” She asks. 

Taking a breath, Jack says, “His daughter is at the hospital with her husband so the General has to watch the grandkids. He needs me to go in and handle the debrief with SG-3, who’s scheduled to return at 0600.”

“So you’re not coming over this morning.” She states flatly.

“I should only be gone for a few hours, I can meet you wherever you decide to go,” he offers in reply.

“I understand, though I was really counting on you being here,” Sam tells him.

“I know, I’m sorry,” he says before saying again, “It’s only gonna be for a few hours, I might not even have to stay for the debrief. Hammond said if his daughter and son-in-law get home then he’ll head in and I can go.”

“And what happens if there’s a delay?” Sam asks, getting irritated.

“It’s going to be fine Sam, don’t worry. Hammond will get there and SG-3 will return on time, and I’ll be out of there.” He says, trying to reassure her.

“Right, because nothing ever goes wrong,” she says sarcastically.

“I know this isn’t what you wanted, but it could easily have been you that got called in,” he tells her.

She knows that he’s right and says sheepishly, “I know, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be grouchy, I guess I’m already on edge about everything and now you won’t be here. I know it’s not your fault.”

“I’ll get done as soon as I can, just call me and let me know where you want me to meet you.” Jack says. 

“Alright,” Sam said with a sigh.

He hates disappointing her more than anything in the world. Especially with her brother constantly harassing her. He knows she’s upset, he also knew that she does understand why he has to go in. No one could have predicted that the General’s son-in-law, James, or Jim, or maybe it was Gary, Jack couldn’t remember, would be involved in an auto accident so early in the morning. As second in command of the base, it does fall to Jack to fill in when the General is otherwise unavailable. Sam was an Air Force brat so she understands the chain of command, doesn’t mean she likes it, but she does understand it. She knows there’s more responsibility that comes with being a colonel then just telling others what to do. General Hammond had picked Jack to be his second, not just because he holds the appropriate rank, but because he has consistently proven to be dependable. He also knows how things need to be handled, and as a trained field soldier, he knows how to make quick, smart decisions. Jack also commands respect, and knows how to give orders that those under him know better than to question. Still, he hates to hear the disappointment in his girlfriend’s voice. 

“I’ll be as quick as I can.” Jack says as he gathers his keys.

“I know you will be, I’ll let Mark and Onica know in a little while and see what they want to do.” Sam says in reply, sounding calmer now.

“Alright, well, I guess I get to take the bike, seems as though you have my truck and all.” Jack reasons. 

“Oh you poor thing.” Sam teases, then adds, “I’ll keep you updated on what we do.” Sam says, smiling into the phone, then adds, “I love you.”

“Love you too.” Jack says as he starts the motorcycle. 

Sam hears the motorcycle start up before Jack disconnects, and she thinks back to the first time she saw Jack’s Harley Sportster 1200, and how surprised she was that he owned one. 

About 3 years ago, Jack had invited the whole team to his house, and when Sam arrived she noticed the garage door was open. As she walked up to the front door, she saw the Harley parked in the garage. She abandoned her path to the door and went into the garage instead. She knew she shouldn’t have, but she just couldn’t resist. She was examining the bike, when suddenly, she heard Jack clear his throat. She jumped so fast she was pretty sure she had left her skin behind.

“Sir, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be in here, I know, I just saw this beauty and couldn’t resist,” Sam said sheepishly and smiled awkwardly as she gestured to the motorcycle.

“Yes, that’s what brought me out here too.” Jack said and looked directly at her. 

Sam’s eyes got really big at his statement, and she was pretty sure she turned all different shades of red.

He noticed her reaction, he clarified, “The bike, I mean.” Then after a moment of silence Jack added, “This is awkward.”

“Yeah,” Sam said, looking anywhere but at Jack.

Jack cleared his throat and said, “So, you like it?” he asked, pointing at the Harley.

“Yeah, it’s a beautiful bike!” Sam responded, grateful for the change in subject. Then added, “I didn’t know you rode.”

“Me, oh, yeah, been riding these things since I was a teenager.” Jack answered her.

“Wow, you’ve never said anything,” Sam said looking at him.

“There’s a lot I don’t say anything about,” Jack said. 

“How long have you had this one?” She asked, instead of thinking too hard about whether what he had just said had a double meaning.

“Oh, for about a year, or so,” he replied.

“What did you have before that?” She asked.

“I had a Shadow, it was smaller, but it was the first bike I ever bought,” he said with longing in his voice.

“Why did you get rid of it?” She asked with curiosity.

“Sara wasn’t a big fan, thought they were ‘too dangerous.’” Jack said, making air quotes with his fingers.

Sam just nodded in response. The subject of his ex-wife was kind of taboo, Sam never brought it up, and said very little the few times when he did.

“So when we divorced, I bought this,” he said gesturing to the Harley, then added, “figured, why not?”

Feeling slightly uncomfortable, Sam said, “Well, it was nice of you to get rid of the Shadow to make her happy, that had to be hard. I’m not sure I could’ve done that.”

Smiling slightly, Jack said, “Yeah, ya know, it seems none of my past girl friends liked me riding motorcycles.”

Taking a chance, Sam said, “I guess you just haven’t found the right one then.”

Looking her in the eye, Jack said, “Guess not.”

Sam smiles at the memory, that was the day she thought for sure that he had feelings for her. He always acted a little differently when it was just the two of them. He let his guard down just a little, but as soon as anyone else was in the room, even Daniel and Teal’c, he was back to keeping her at arm's length. 

But that’s over now, and she smiles thinking about the fact that she is his first girlfriend that doesn’t just like his motorcycle, but owns one of her own. They’ve gone riding together several times now, in fact their first date was a motorcycle ride. She hopped on behind him and they just cruised through the mountains, he even let her drive at one point. It was the best first date she had ever had, and it’s just gotten better and better since then.

Sam checks the clock and it’s now nearly 0500, she could go back to sleep for a couple hours, but she figures she’s up and may as well stay up. She sits down with a science magazine and reads for a bit, but finds that she can’t concentrate, so she decides to go for a morning run, hoping that will help her keep her nerves in check for when her brother wakes up. 

When Sam returns home from her jog, she’s covered in sweat, and she feels great. She walks into the kitchen for a glass of water and checks the clock again, it’s now 0630. She can’t believe she was out running for that long, so she checks her watch and her phone, both confirming the time on the stove. She decides to go get a quick shower, as she knows that Mark is an early riser too, and she doesn’t want to hear him complain that she’s in the bathroom.

After her shower, Sam wraps herself in a towel and goes back into her room and dresses in a pair of jeans and an orange top, nothing fancy, but Jack says she looks good in orange, so she’s been wearing it more often. She also applies light makeup, Jack tells her that she doesn’t need any to be beautiful, but she still likes to wear it. When she’s all done, she walks back into the kitchen and notices the time is now just after 0700. A couple minutes later, Mark walks in and silently goes over to the coffee maker and turns it on. 

“Hey,” Sam says by way of greeting.

“Morning,” is all Mark says in reply.

“So,” Sam starts, then after sighing, she continues, “Jack called. The General had a family emergency and Jack has to go to work for a few hours.”

“Hmph,” Mark grunts, “so what are we supposed to do, wait until he’s done working?” He asks, starting to feel aggravated.

Taking a breath in an effort to remain calm, Sam says, “No, we can make a plan and Jack will meet us, but there’s also a chance he’ll be done at work before we leave.”

Mark looks at her like she’s crazy, “Yeah right, since when are any of you military types where you say you’ll be, when you say you’ll be there?”

Taking another, deeper breath, Sam says, “He just had to go in for a meeting at 0600, yes it could be delayed, but,” Sam pauses as her phone vibrates. She looks at it, then back at Mark, and finishes, “That was a text from Jack, the meeting was delayed, but they’re going to start soon. He’ll call when it’s over.”

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

After the short 20 minute drive, Jack arrives at The Cheyenne Mountain Complex. He is greeted by the sergeant at the gate, and proceeds to make his way inside to the sign in desk. After signing in he rides the first elevator, then gets on the second elevator for the even longer ride down. As soon as the door to the second elevator opened, Jack is bombarded by Daniel Jackson. Jack wonders what Daniel is even doing here. Sam was always the one who seemed to never leave, however, after she and Jack started dating, Sam made more of an effort to actually leave at the end of the day. Apparently, Daniel is now taking the place of the member of Jack’s team that never leaves. Trying to not think too hard about it, Jack starts walking down the hall with Daniel close on his heel.

“You’ll never believe it, Jack!” Daniel says with enthusiasm.

“Daniel, it’s,” Jack pauses, looks at his watch and adds, ”it’s 0530…..in the morning! I don’t believe I’m even here, let alone whatever you’re about to say.”

“Yeah, I know, but take a look at this.” Daniel says, shoving his phone into Jack’s hands.

Looking at the phone and mocking Daniel’s enthusiasm, Jack says, “Oh yes, it’s very important.”

“Jack,” Daniel whined, then adds, “Do you know what this means?”

“Daniel, it’s your text messages, I don’t care what it means.” Jack takes a breath, then continues, “You know what else I don’t know? How did you know I was here? What are you doing here for that matter?”

“Look at who I’m texting. I heard Walter say that you were coming in place of General Hammond, and I started the translation on this tablet and wanted to finish.” Daniel says, answering all of Jack’s questions in one breath. Then as an afterthought Daniel asks, “What are you doing here anyways? I thought Sam’s brother was in town.”

“Sam’s brother is in town, and I’m here because the General had a family emergency. And you’re texting Teal’c.” Jack answers Daniel, then adds, “Wait….when did Teal'c get a phone?”

“Is everything alright with Hammond?” Daniel asks with concern.

“Everything is fine.” Jack says, then tells Daniel about the car accident.

“I’m glad the General’s son-in-law is alright. And Teal’c got a phone last night, I took him to get one,” Daniel says all proud of himself, then asks, “So, how long do you have to be here?” 

“Just until the General is able to come in,” Jack replies.

“And what about Sam’s brother?” Daniel asks.

“What about him?” Jack asks in confusion. 

“Won’t he be upset?” Daniel counters.

“He’ll have to deal with it, besides, I’m more concerned with upsetting Sam than her brother,” Jack retorts.

“Yeah, I suppose so, I guess she’s ok with it then?” Daniel inquires.

“She’s not thrilled, but she understands. I’ll be out of here soon enough and will meet them somewhere. It’ll be fine,” Jack answers, then changes the subject with, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go see if SG-3 is going to return on time.”

Jack gets to the control room to where the gate technician informs him that SG-3 has not checked in yet. Jack grumbles a little and goes into Hammond’s office and waits until 0600. He walks back into the control room, where there is still no word from SG-3. He waits a few more minutes before announcing that he’s going to the commissary to grab some breakfast, and will be back shortly. After all, standard procedure is to wait for a team to be 2 hours overdue before dialing the address to the planet they went to, and if he knows Colonel Albert Reynolds, he has plenty of time for breakfast. 

He stops by Daniel’s office on his way and invites him to join him for breakfast, and asks, “Teal’c in his room?”

“Uh, probably.” Daniel says distractedly.

“Let’s go get him so he can eat breakfast with us,” Jack suggests.

“Ahh let’s text him.” Daniel counters, then adds, “I taught him how to do it last night and he seems to really enjoy it.”

After texting Teal'c to meet them in the commissary, the 3 members of SG-1 sit at their favorite table, after filling their trays. Daniel is eating eggs with bacon and a coffee, Jack has a piece of toast and some oatmeal, and Teal’c has a plate full of all kinds of meat and fruit. 

Looking at Teal’c’s plate, Jack says sarcastically, “I see you’re going light this morning.”

Teal’c lifts his eyebrow and says, “It is my normal amount O’Neill.”

“I...nevermind.” Jack said, shaking his head. “So, I hear you have a phone now,” he tries instead.

Teal’c smiles and bows his head and says, “I do indeed O”Neill. I will text you my phone number.”

“So, Jack, what do you and Sam have planned with her brother and his family?” Daniel asks, by way of changing the subject.

“Actually, it’s just Mark and his wife, Onica. Apparently they decided to leave the kids at home.” Jack says. 

“Oh, I bet Sam wasn’t happy about that.” Daniel replies.

“Indeed, Major Carter appeared very excited to see her niece and nephew,” Teal’c adds.

“Yeah, she was. And to answer your question Daniel, I don’t know what the plan is. Things will probably change now that the kids aren’t here,” Jack says in reply to Daniel’s question.

“Well, I hope the 4 of you have a good time with whatever you’ll be doing,” Daniel says, trying to be helpful.

“Indeed,” Teal’c adds.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Jack sits in Hammond’s office and looks at his watch for the umteenth time. SG-3 was sent on a 48 hour mission, and they are now on their 49th hour. He’s supposed to wait 2 hours, but he’s feeling impatient. Besides, Sam already called him once to tell him that she, Mark and Onica will probably go out for breakfast once they’re all up and ready. He hopes Mark isn’t driving Sam too crazy. Jack is just about to go order the gate dialed when suddenly he hears Walter say over the speaker, “Unscheduled off world activation.” Jack gets up and walks into the control room.

“Is it SG-3?” Jack asks Sargent Harriman.

“I’m not sure sir, I haven’t received an IDC yet.” After a brief pause, Walter adds, “Wait, I’ve got it . It’s SG-3 sir.”

“Open the iris,” Jack orders as he heads down to the gate room.

SG-3 steps through the gate just as Jack gets to the bottom of the ramp, Jack says dryly, “Reynolds, you’re late.”

“Sorry sir, we ran into a little trouble returning to the gate,” Reynolds replies.

“Yeah well, I don’t have all day,” Jack retorts, with mock annoyance.

“What are you doing here anyways Jack? I thought you had the weekend off, something about spending time with your girlfriend’s family.” Reynolds says teasingly.

“Shut up Reynolds,” Jack says as Reynolds laughs, and Jack continues, “Hammond had a family emergency so you’re stuck with me. Now go get your post op check up, debrief in 30.” Jack orders.

“Yes sir.” Reynolds says as he and his team start heading out the door.

“By the way Al, if Hammond isn’t here by time the debrief is over, I’m leaving you in charge.” Jack hollars at Colonel Reynolds, who just shakes his head smiling.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

As SG-3 all saunter into the briefing room, Jack looks at the clock, 0745, not too bad he thinks. If he can get the debrief moving and only focus on the important aspects of the mission, then maybe, just maybe he can get out of here at a decent time. After all, Daniel and Sam are not part of this debrief, so things should move along fairly quickly.

He was wrong, 2 hours later, the debrief is finally over. Jack looks at his watch and mentally rolls his eyes. He just can’t understand how anyone can talk about old rocks for so long, despite Jack’s best effort to hurry the guy up. He briefly wonders if Daniel is giving all the junior archaeologists tips on how to prolong briefings and therefore, make Jack miserable. Hammond called and said he was going to be later than he thought, so Jack filled Reynolds in on what’s been done and what still needed to be done. Jack goes to the locker room and changes back into his civies, and checks his phone, sure enough Sam had sent him a text. He opens the messages and reads it.

‘Hey, we’re going into town to get some breakfast.’

‘Ok, just finished, heading home now.’ Jack sends in reply.

‘Perfect, we just finished, we’ll meet you there.’ Sam sends back almost immediately, then he notices her first text was sent over an hour ago, no wonder they’re ready to meet up with him.

Jack gathers his phone and helmet and heads out. Today will be a good day, he thinks. Sam will see that there is nothing to worry about after all.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

As they pull into the driveway, Oncia can’t help but notice how nice the house is. She’s not sure what she was expecting, but this wasn’t it. The yard is neatly manicured, with a nice floral arrangement, and good sized shrubs all around for privacy, she assumes. The house itself is large, well, not overly large, but large enough, and well kept. She figures it probably costs more than she and Mark could afford. Though with Mark’s new job promotion, he will also be receiving a pay increase. Maybe they could afford a bigger house, though after this weekend, a bigger house might not be needed.

Sam brings the truck to a stop and Onica’s hands are shaking as she opens the door. Sam had suggested that they use Jack’s truck today so they would be more comfortable, besides, Sam needed to return it anyways. Jack could take them all back to Sam’s house at the end of the evening. But for now, they were at Jack’s house and Onica had to be ready. She pauses for a moment, trying to get herself under control before Mark or Sam notices how nervous she is. She is so caught up in calming herself down that she missed most of what Sam was saying. All she heard was ‘Jack and home’ and she started panicking all over again. 

“And how long will that take?” Mark asks.

Before Sam can answer Mark’s question, Onica blurts out, “How long will what take?”

“Sam just said that Jack is finished working and on his way home, weren’t you listening hon?” Mark says in response to his wife’s question.

Shaking her head to try and clear her thoughts, Onica asks, “So when exactly will he be here?”

“In about 10 minutes, depending on traffic.” Sam answers, then adds, “But we can wait inside, he won’t mind.”

She’s been dreading this, getting in his truck was hard enough, but going inside his house….it just seems wrong....especially considering the last time she was in his house. She suddenly realizes that this is the moment, her chance to get Jack alone. Onica briefly registers the fact that Mark is saying things under his breath about Sam having a key to Jack’s house, she can also tell that Sam is aware of what he’s saying. A thought suddenly comes to her and she almost shouts, “I’m going to check in with Tiffany.”

Mark nods at her in response and Onica pulls her cell phone out of her bag and makes the call, or rather she sends a text message but tries to look as though she’s on the phone. She gets a reply almost instantly telling her that the kids are fine, and that Tiffany is planning to take them all to the park after breakfast. Onica smiles a little as she thinks about how much the kids love going to the park, Luke likes to show off how strong he thinks he is by climbing on the monkey bars, he usually only makes it about half way before letting go, but he feels accomplished. Aubry loves the swings, though she goes a little too high for Onica’s liking, but the smile on the girl’s face is worth it. 

Onica is pulled out of her musings by the sound of an engine, or rather, a motorcycle, if she’s not mistaken. Her heart beat speeds up and she almost feels dizzy. This is it, Jack is here and she’s about to come face to face with her past. 

She turns her back so that he won’t be able to see her face, but from the corner of her eye, she watches as he pulls all the way up to the open garage. Somewhere in the back of her mind she wonders when exactly the garage door opened, she was standing outside since they arrived, but she missed it. Too busy worrying about how things are going to go down to have noticed the large 2 car garage door opening. 

She hears the bike shut off and watches as Jack climbs off. He had had a motorcycle long ago, she had never liked it but she had to admit, he did look good on one. Onica takes a breath and steps closer to the garage door, it’s now or never.

She can see him clearly now, his back is turned and his head is down, probably looking at his phone. Onica musters up all the courage she’s going to get, and as clearly as she can, she says, “Jack.”

As soon as she says his name she sees him freeze and visibly tense up. Then ever so slowly, he lifts his head and turns around. When he turns to face her, her breath catches. He’s always been very good looking, and now, some 20 years later, is no exception. She suddenly thinks back and wonders what things could’ve been like. No, she can’t think about the past, and ‘the might have beens’, she has to face the present, ‘and the what is’. She can tell that he tries to hide his emotions, but it doesn’t quite work. Then ever so faintly she hears him say in disbelief, “Ronnie?”


	6. The past comes crashing back

Chapter 6: The past comes crashing back

As they make their way inside the house, Mark looks around. He was surprised by the outside of the house, he hadn’t expected it to be so well kept. Jack was a bachelor, a man living alone, there should be some kind of mess. The lawn was mowed, recently too, large attractive shrubs that lined the property, trees planted around the yard, there’s even a nice flower garden lining the house. Mark can’t imagine that Jack has time to keep all of this up himself, he figures Jack must pay someone to do it for him. Then a thought crosses his mind….what if this is all for show? Maybe Jack is just trying to impress him. No, Mark thinks to himself feeling stupid, it looks as though some of those plants had been there a while.

The inside is just as impressive as the outside, Mark notes. The floors and counters are clean, the place looks dusted. Mark figures Jack has someone come in and clean the place, just like he probably has someone keep up the outside. He peeks in the kitchen briefly and nods his approval at the simple white table cloth. It’s not fancy, but it looks nice with the other decorations. 

Mark walks into the living room as Sam is saying something, honestly he wasn’t really listening to her. He hasn’t even met this Jack character yet, but he’s already not what Mark expected. He’s got a nice truck, a truck Mark would love to have if he were being honest with himself, and a neat, clean, well kept home. There’s pictures of him and Sam, and he assumes the rest of their team all over the fireplace mantel. There’s tons of medals displayed there as well, this guy is a seriously well decorated officer. 

Mark walks to the door that leads to the back deck and sees simple outdoor furniture, a small grill, and a nice sized backyard. Maybe he was too quick to judge, maybe this Jack fella isn’t so bad after all. This place is much better than the dumps his sister’s past boyfriends lived in. He’s just coming around to these new thoughts when he turns back around and sees a picture on the wall, separate from all the others. Mark walks closer to inspect it, not taking his eyes off of it. 

As he gets closer, he sees that it’s a picture of 3 people standing in the driveway of a house. In the picture, the man has his arm around a woman and a small child, a boy. The man is undoubtedly Jack, a few years younger perhaps, but definitely Jack, the woman is most certainly NOT Sam, and the boy, he doesn’t know, the house too, was not this house. Then it dawns on him, Jack has a family. An ex girlfriend, or wife maybe, and a son. Well this changes everything, all those thoughts he was having about reconsidering his position regarding Jack are gone. Any man who abandons his family is a stone cold jerk. Mark can’t believe that Sam would tolerate such a thing!

Speaking of Sam, Mark looks around but doesn't see her, so he hollers, “Sam?”

Emerging from the hallway, Sam asks, “Yes?”

Pointing at the picture with his thumb, Mark demands, “What is this?”

Looking at where her brother is pointing, Sam simply says, “It’s a picture.”

Getting annoyed, Mark replies back, “I can see that. I meant who is that woman and child? Does Jack have a family?”

“Mark,” Sam starts, only to be cut off by her brother.

“He has a family. Oh my goodness, did you break them up?” Mark asks, feeling more and more heated.

Taken aback by his question, Sam holds up her hands and says, “How could you ask that? Do you really think I would get in the way of a family?”

“I honestly don’t know Sam. You never mentioned before that Jack has a family!” Mark shouts. “And how are you okay with him displaying a picture, of the three of them all happy, right here in the living room for all to see?” He adds before she can say anything.

Sam glances out the window briefly and upon seeing nothing, she replies, “That’s his ex wife and son, and yes, I’m okay with it being there.” Glancing out the window again, Sam says, “Now drop it, Jack will be home any minute now.”

“So what?” Mark says, then adds, “Who cares? I have a few questions for him I’d like answered.”

“Mark, stop.” Sam says in a very serious tone.

“I take it the kid lives with his mother?” Mark asks but says it more as a statement, then adds, “Does he expect you to be a second mom to his kid?”

“No, of course not.” Sam starts, but is yet again cut off by her brother.

“Have you ever even met the boy?” Mark asks, then says sarcastically before Sam can respond, “And here I was starting to change my mind about him. Nice truck, nice house, responsible job, and a deadbeat dad.” Mark says waving his hands in the air.

“Shut up!” Sam yells, then she walks over and comes within inches of Mark’s face and says in the most threatening voice he’s ever heard come from her, “You have no idea what you’re talking about so just stop.”

Now Mark puts his hands up in defense and backs away a few steps and says, “Sorry, didn’t mean to strike a nerve, you said you were okay with this.” He says, indicating the picture with his finger.

Gaining some control back Sam says, “I am okay with this, and Jack was definitely NOT a deadbeat dad.”

Trying to sound reasonable, Mark says “Sam, with his job and now, dating you, when does he have time to spend with his son? I don’t see any kid things here, so I’m pretty sure the boy isn’t here very often, or at all….and you’ve never met him, what does that tell you?” When he’s done with his rant, he realizes what Sam said, and asks. “Wait, what do you mean, was?”

Now she feels uncomfortable, this is not her story to tell. Jack barely speaks about his son as it is, and she knows that he’s still haunted about what happened. She wishes she wasn’t the one having to tell Mark, it should be Jack’s choice. Though if she doesn’t say anything then Mark will, to Jack and that would cause a whole host of issues. No, it’s better to just get it out of the way, if she tells Mark, then despite his feelings toward Jack, he should at least have the decency to not bring it up.

Closing her eyes Sam takes in a deep breath and says in a very slow and controlled tone, “His son, Charlie, died. It happened before I met him, I don’t know all the details, Jack doesn’t like to talk about it. He and his wife, Sara, divorced shortly afterwards. I didn’t know Jack back then, but I know for a certainty that he was a great father. He would do anything to have his son back.” She pauses to collect herself, Mark must notice because for once, he doesn't interrupt. After a moment, Sam continues, “But there’s nothing he can do, because he can’t change the past.” She says the last word as she looks directly at Mark so she can gauge his reaction.

She hears him inhale and he looks visibly shaken as he says, “I’m sorry to hear that, and I’m sorry for the things I said.” He pauses a moment, then asks, “How did it happen? I assume you at least know that much.”

Now fully in control, Sam responds, “That’s up to Jack to tell you, if he wants to.”

Shaking his head in acceptance, Mark mutters, “Alright.” 

He has so many questions, but he also recognizes the fact that it’s not his business. No matter how he feels about this man and his relationship with Sam, no one deserves to lose their child. He looks at the picture again, the boy looks to be about 8, maybe 9, right around the age of Mark’s daughter, and just a couple years younger than his son. He can't imagine losing one of his kids, his heart goes out to Jack for having gone through something like that.

Mark is pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of a motor getting louder, he glances over to his sister, who looks out the window, she says, “Jack’s home.”

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

This is why he owns a motorcycle, Jack thinks as he cruises effortlessly down the road. The day is perfect, the air is cool but not cold, the sun is bright, and the scenery, well, it’s breathtaking. This is a motorcyclist’s dream come true, all that’s missing is the hot blond sitting behind him. Sam would love this, he briefly considers ditching her brother and his wife and taking Sam on a cruise up the mountains. No, they can’t do that, the mountains will always be there, but Mark and Onica are only here for a couple of days. Though it’s days like today that he wishes his drive to and from work was a little bit longer. 

This morning it was a bit cooler out so he had worn his helmet, though when he walked out of the mountain to this gorgeous day, he opted to not wear it on his drive home. Instead, he has on his dark sunglasses. Sam would probably scold him for not wearing a helmet, as she has before, however they are not required by law for riders over the age of 18, and he’s long since passed 18. He comes to a stop at a red light and beside him in a convertible are a couple young ladies, probably in their 20s. They look over at him and smile at each other, probably laughing at his unruly hair. He chuckles to himself that he usually has helmet hair on a daily basis, whether he’s worn a helmet or not. The light turns green and before the girls drive off, they whistle at him, he barely hears it over the sound of his engine but when he looks over they’re now smiling at him. He nods at them in response and gives them a half grin, he figures they must like the bike. Whatever, they can admire it as he rides off, and that’s exactly what he does.

A couple turns later and he’s on his road, he drives another mile and turns left into his driveway. He sees his truck parked there so he maneuvers around it. He notices the garage is already open, Sam must have opened it with the button in his truck when she got here. Jack also sees a woman standing outside, Onica he figures, her back is turned and it looks as though she’s on her phone. He pulls into the garage, shuts off the motorcycle, and dismounts. He feels his phone vibrate in his pocket as he does so, he pulls it out, looks at it, and rolls his eyes. He will kill Daniel for getting Teal’c a phone and teaching him how to text. Jack thought he was bad at texting but Teal’c, my goodness. Teal’c had been sending him messages all day, now though his newest thing was sending pictures. So about every few minutes, Jack receives a picture text from Teal’c, usually it is pictures of cats. What is with the cats? Jack just can’t figure it out.

He mentally shakes his head at the latest cat picture from Teal’c when he hears footsteps approach, before he turns around he hears a woman say his name. The sound of her voice makes his blood run cold and he freezes. He knows that voice, he’s heard it say his name a million times, though he never expected to hear it say his name again. He slowly starts to turn around, lifting his head as he does so. He schools his features, or at least, he attempts to, he’s pretty sure he failed though. Once turned fully around, he can’t believe his eyes. Of all the people in all the world, she is the last person he expected to show up at his house. Old feelings and memories come flooding back all of the sudden, and through the fog in his brain all he manages to say is a very weak, “Ronnie?”

Onica takes a few steps closer and actually enters the garage, she looks Jack in the eyes and says, “I go by Onica now.”

“On...what? What in the world are you doing here? How do you even know where I live?” He rattles off the questions, and as soon as he’s finished, realization dawns and all the pieces come together. “Oh my ga...you’re Mark’s wife?” Jack asks in complete disbelief.

Onica takes a breath and comes another couple steps closer and says in a quieter voice, “Please, keep your voice down.” And she looks at him with pleading eyes.

“Keep my voice down, are you kidding me?!” Jack nearly shouts, then he closes his eyes and gains control over himself. Then he adds in an angry but quieter tone, “You walk out of my life with no real explanation, only to show up again married to my girlfriend’s brother, and you want me to keep my voice down?” He paces back and forth a few times before he stops and says, “This is messed up.”

“I know, I’m sorry. I’m trying to figure out the best way to handle everything.” Onica says, pleading with Jack to not make things more difficult.

“I thought you “weren’t the marrying type?” Jack spits out using air quotes, then adds bitterly, “I guess that changed, huh?”

“From what I heard you were married within a year after I left.” Onica huffed.

Jack stops and looks at her, and in a very low dangerous voice, he says, “So you were checking up on me?”

“Jack,” Onica starts, only to be interrupted.

“Don’t,” Jack says holding up a hand and shaking his head. “Just don’t.”

“Let me explain, please.” Onica begs, looking at Jack with pleading eyes.

In years past, he would have done anything for this woman. And if she ever looked at him like she is now, that would’ve been his undoing. Though she never had to look at him like this because he had never been able to say no to her. If he’s being honest, he’s having trouble saying no to her right now. Jack cannot figure out how, after all these years, and after everything that happened between them, she still has a hold on him. Part of him wants to hear her out, let her explain, the other part of him wants her to disappear again forever. 

He decides to Ignore that for now and says instead, “How has this not come up before now? You’ve been married to Mark for what, 12 years or something? Surely he would’ve said something to Sam, and she definitely would’ve said something to me.” After a brief pause, reality sinks in, “Oh my goodness! Mark doesn't know does he?”

When Onica doesn’t say anything, Jack takes her silence as confirmation and adds, “Geez Ronnie.” Jack starts his pacing again and runs his hands through his hair, a gesture Oncia has seen him do a thousand times. He stops pacing and looks at her pointedly and asks, “What in the world were you thinking?”

“I’m guessing that Sam doesn’t know either?” Oncia asks, rather than answering his question. She assumes that Sam would have mentioned something, had she known.

“Of course she doesn’t know.” Jack fires back, then adds, “Though if I had known about this,” he says waving his arms in the air, “I would have told her.”

Starting to feel frantic, Onica says, “I never thought this would happen!”

Jack whirls around and says, “You never thought this would happen? What are you nuts?!” He pauses for a second, then says, “I’m guessing you knew long before today.” Jack accuses.

Looking ashamed, Onica admits, “I’ve known for a while,”

Cutting her off, Jack shouts, “Then why didn’t you say something?”

Cupping her hands over her mouth, Onica says, “I didn’t know what to do.”

“You certainly knew what to do the last time I saw you. Let me see, as I recall, you threw the ring in my face as you walked out the door, to run off with that...” Jack says, shaking his head bitterly.

In hushed tones Onica asks, “Can we talk about that later?”

Jack looks at her incredulously and says, “What am I supposed to do Ronnie, huh? Go inside and act like I don’t know you? Act like we don’t have history? Like we were never engaged? Is that what I’m supposed to do?”

“I don’t know Jack, I don’t know.” Onica says as tears start flowing.

At this point Jack turns his back, a crying woman has always been his weakness. Especially a woman he’s in love with, or used to be, he corrects himself. The day she left he nearly fell apart. He never thought he’d recover, and in some ways, he never did. He met and married Sara a few months later. Jack knew that he had rushed into something he wasn’t ready for, and as a result they had major issues in the beginning. They actually went as far as separating, but when Sara called and said she was pregnant, they tried to work things out. Jack remembered his own messed up childhood and the issues he had had with his father, and he didn’t want that for his kid. Unfortunately, at the beginning of her second trimester, Sara miscarried. They were both devastated but they leaned on each other for support, that’s when Jack realized that he had genuine feelings for her. He wasn’t ready to call it love but he could feel himself falling, and so he fell. In time, Sara got pregnant again, and for a while, Jack had the family he had always wanted. Only to lose his son in a horrific accident, and his marriage fell apart shortly thereafter. So here he was staring at the second woman who had broken his heart, the first being his mother, but that’s a whole other story.

He hated that Sara had left after their son died, but he did understand why. He was surprised that she had stayed as long as she had. When he met her, he was trying to pick up the pieces that Ronnie had left him in. He had never told Sara about Ronnie, too painful he had reasoned. Thinking about it now, he wonders if he had just been going through the motions with Sara, she had deserved better. He was left broken again after his son died, and he felt numb during the divorce proceedings. Then he met Sam and almost instantly, he was fixed. He could truly say that he has never felt for anyone what he feels for Sam. Oh he loved Ronnie, or Onica she calls herself now, and he did love Sara, but Sam, he can’t live without her. He fell in love with her the moment he laid eyes on her, and he waited 4 long years just to be with her. Now that he has her, he doesn’t want to lose her. Ronnie standing here right now could cause just that.

Jack turns around slowly and says in a very controlled manner, “I am not lying to her.”

Looking at him sadly she says, “I’m not asking you to.”

Closing his eyes and sighing Jack asks, “Then what exactly are you asking?”

“I don’t know.” Onica admits in despair.

“We have to tell them,” Jack says in reply.

“How?” Onica sniffles.

“I’m sure you’ll think of something.” Jack says as he walks to the garage entrance, then adds, “You always do.” He pauses for a moment and turns back slightly and says, “I just have to know one thing.” At Onica’s nod Jack looks her in the eye and asks, “Is Mark the guy you left me for?”

Returning his look, Onica says quietly, “No, that...”

“I don’t want to know.” Jack interrupts. He takes one last look at her and leaves the garage. He feels a bit of trepidation as he approaches the front door, he has no idea what he’s going to tell Sam, but he knows he has to tell her something.


	7. The awkwardness begins

Chapter 7: And the awkwardness begins 

As Jack walks the path to the house, he can feel Ronnie, or Onica she goes by now, whatever, on his heels. He has no idea what to expect as this weekend unfolds. He had told Sam that things would go better than she was thinking, however that was before he knew his ex fiancé was involved. He knows he is going to have to tell Sam, but how? And what will it mean for their relationship? Jack had been angry when Ronnie walked out all those years ago, he never understood why she left, just that she had found someone else. Over the years, the sting of that betrayal eased, but now that she’s here, it’s stinging much harder again. He wants answers, wants to know what he had done to make her leave, why she had stopped loving him. He pauses for a second as he wonders if he has ever really gotten over her.

Jack opens to the door and sees Sam in the living room with her brother, she smiles at him and his insides twist in a knot. He’s got the answer to his question. He might still like an explanation, but he’s definitely over Ronnie. How could he not be? Look at Sam, she’s gorgeous, and only she can make him weak in the knees with a single look.

Jack hears the door close behind him and he glances over and sees Ronnie, Onica, he corrects himself, standing there. Suddenly Jack feels frozen, he has no idea what to expect next. 

Sam walks up to him and places a hand on his chest and stretches up and kisses him gently on the lips. It didn’t last long, but for the instant that her lips were on his, all his worries and stresses faded away. He has the strongest urge to kiss her more but feels it would be inappropriate with Ron...no Onica, and Mark standing here watching. Whatever, throwing caution to the wind, he pulls Sam back to him and kisses her more soundly. He could kiss her all day long and never get tired of it, but decides now is not the time to do that and so he ends the kiss, but stays close to her.

Sam pulls back, but leaves her hand on his chest and says, “Hey.”

Jack reaches up and takes her hand in his and gives her a soft smile and replies, “Hey.” 

Sam takes a step back, but Jack keeps hold of her hand, she gives him one last smile before gesturing with her loose hand and says, “Jack, this is my brother Mark, and you’ve already met Onica.”

Jack starts at the last part, he looks nervously between Sam and Ronnie and asks shocked, “You know?”

Sam looks at him confused and says, “You came in together, I assume you met outside.”

“Oh, yeah, right.” Jack says, looking down at the floor.

Mark amusedly watches the exchange. Since finding out about the man’s son, Mark has felt a sort of sympathy for him. He still doesn’t like that Sam is dating her boss, but seeing them together and how Jack looks at his baby sister, he has to admit that this guy really does seem to care about her. He decides in that moment to give this whole thing a chance. Besides, now that he sees Jack in person, he realizes that he’s much taller, and much better built for a man his age, than Mark expected. He feels a bit intimidated. Mark concludes that if things come to blows and there was a physical altercation, he would probably not win. Mark remembers Sam telling him that Jack used to be in the special forces, and looking at him now, he decides that Jack could take him down without breaking a sweat. Mark doubts he’d even get one hit in before he’s sprawled on his back in disgrace. 

Mark clears his throat and steps forward, his right hand outstretched, “Jack, it’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too.” Jack says, accepting Mark’s hand and shaking it.

“Thank you for having my wife and I over to your home.” Mark says as he releases Jack’s hand and puts his arm around Onica.

Jack glances over at Ronnie, Onica, he reminds himself...again, and sees her studying the floor rather intently. 

Jack gives an uncomfortable smile and says, “You’re welcome.”

Glancing over at Sam, then back to Jack, Mark says, “I, uh, also wanted to say that I’m sorry about your son. No parent should have to go through something like that.”

Jack loses the smile he just had and his features go dark as he says, “Excuse me?” 

Feeling a little self conscious, Mark says, “Sam told me.”

Jack shoots Sam a look that would have most System Lords quivering in their shoes and hiding behind their personal force field. Sam stands her ground but doesn't say anything. Instead she runs her hand up and down Jack’s arm.

Onica breaks the silence by saying, “I didn’t know you had a son.”

Jack gives her an icy cold glare and says, “Why would you?”

Looking back to the floor, Onica says quietly, “I’d like to meet him. What’s his name?”

He scowls at her and then in a very dangerous tone, Jack says, “None of your business.” 

Oncia backs up a step and says, “I’m sorry.”

Sam looks at Jack wondering where all this hostility is coming from, but she doesn’t ask. It could have something to do with work, in which case, he wouldn’t be able to talk about it in front of their current company. Though, she’s pretty sure that he’s upset because she was talking about his son with Mark. Instead of thinking about it too much, she asks, “Anyone thirsty?”

Both Mark and Onica nod, then Sam tugs Jack’s hand, indicating he should go with her. He doesn’t resist, just silently turns and starts off toward the kitchen.

Mark watches them go, then turns to Onica and says quietly, “His son died sweetheart.”

Onica gasps and puts her hand to her mouth and says, “I had no idea, if I had known I wouldn’t have asked.”

Pulling her closer to him and kissing the top of her head, Mark says, “It’s okay, you couldn’t have known. I didn’t even know until Sam told me a few minutes ago. Though it’s probably best not to bring it up again with how upset he seemed to get.”

Hugging her husband tightly, Onica asks, “How did it happen?”

Mark shrugs and says, “I don’t know, Sam said that would be up to Jack to share.”

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Once in the kitchen, Sam pulls her hand out of Jack’s and turns to face him with her hands in front of her and says in a hushed voice, “I’m sorry, I didn’t plan on telling him, he was just asking questions and it came out. I know it’s not my business to tell anyone about your son.”

Jack looks down at the floor and says, “It’s fine.”

Looking at him skeptically, Sam asks, “Really?”

Finally looking away from his spot on the floor and looking tenderly at Sam, Jack says, “Sam, we’re in this,” pointing his finger between the two of them, “together, everything about me is your business.”

Sam shakes her head and says, “Then why did you seem so upset?”

Ignoring her question, Jack looks back down to the floor and sighs, “Sam, there’s something I need to tell you. Something I swear I didn't know about, and I don’t know how you’re going to take it.”

Sam notes the uncomfortable look on Jack’s face and the uncertainty in his voice. She wonders what he could possibly be about to say that would cause him to act this way, and says wearily, “Okay.”

“Sev…” Jack starts, but is interrupted when Mark comes into the kitchen.

“Hey,” Mark calls, then at Jack and Sam’s looks, he says, “Sorry, did I interrupt something?”

Jack and Sam look at each other, Sam remains silent, unsure if Jack wants to finish whatever it was he was about to say. She isn’t surprised when Jack answers, “No, Mark, it’s fine, what’s up?”

Feeling like an intruder despite Jack’s words, Mark says lamely, “Uh, I was wondering what we were drinking.” He looks between them, then at the floor, then back up and says, “We talked about drinks but didn’t say what we were drinking.”

Neither Jack nor Sam spoke right away and the lingering silence grew more and more awkward by the second. Sam looks over to Jack who is studying that spot on the floor he seems to find interesting and says, “Uh, we have water, beer, and some soda.”

“We’ll take a soda if that’s alright.” Mark says, feeling really stupid.

“Sure, we’ll be right out.” Sam says by way of a dismissal. 

Mark turns and leaves, thankful to get out of there. Though he can’t help but to wonder what exactly is going on.

Jack silently turns around and opens the refrigerator and starts grabbing out the sodas. Sam stares at his back for a moment then asks, “Jack?”

Jack sighs and without turning around, responds, “Yeah?”

Jack has finished getting the sodas out of the fridge and is now getting glasses out of the cabinet, Sam steps over and stills him by putting a hand on his arm, and she says gently, “What’s going on?”

Still not looking at her, Jack says, “We can talk about it later.”

Sam gently pushes his shoulder, forcing him to face her and says, “Jack, you were about to tell me something, something you weren’t sure how I would react to.”

Sighing again, Jack says, “I’ll tell you later, okay.” He pauses for a moment then adds, “I promise.”

Sam wishes he would just tell her whatever it is that he has to say, if nothing else it would alleviate her curiosity. However, she trusts him, and she figures he must have a good reason for waiting, so she just nods in acceptance. 

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

As soon as Mark left to find out what drinks were available, Onica made a beeline for the picture of Jack and his broken family hangin on the wall. She smiles a little as she sees how happy he looked, his wife was beautiful, and his son, wow, what a handsome boy. Her smile fades as she thinks about how quickly he married this woman after their engagement ended. 

She remembers calling a mutual friend about 10 months after she and Jack broke off their engagement…

“Hey, Angela, it’s Ronnie.” Ronnie said nervously into the phone.

“Hey,” Angela said surprised, then added, “Didn’t think I’d hear from you again,”

“I know, I’m sorry Ange.” Ronnie said.

“What do you want?” Angela asked defensively.

“I, I know you’re mad.” Ronnie said, hoping she sounded genuine.

“Mad!” Angela said in a huff, then added, “Are you kidding?? Ronnie, you were my best friend, I was supposed to be your maid of honor and you left without warning, I haven’t heard from you in 8 months! I didn’t even know if you were dead or alive.” Angela started breathing heavily after her rant.

“I’m really sorry, Ange, please, I’m sorry.” Ronnie said, she tried to hold back tears as she added, “Please let me explain.”

After a long silence, Angela said, “Fine, explain.”

“Before I left, I met someone.” Ronnie started, only to be interrupted by Angela.

“You met someone!” Angela spat, then added, “You were weeks away from marrying Jack, I thought you loved him. How could you just meet someone else?”

“I know, it sounds really bad, I swear though, nothing happened between me and this other guy.” Ronnie said with conviction. She took a breath and started again, “I met him about 2 months before I left. All we did was hang out and talk, he made me feel so special.”

“Did he know that you were engaged to be married?” Angela demanded to know.

“No.” Was all Ronnie said in response.

“So what, you hang out a few times, and you thought it was a good idea to leave your fiancé and all your friends behind?” Angela said accusingly.

“I’m sorry, it was the wrong thing to do, I know that now.” Ronnie said quietly into the phone.

“Sighing heavily into the phone, Angela said, “I take it you’re not with this guy anymore then.”

“No, it turned out that we didn’t want the same things.” Ronnie said bitterly.

“And now....what? You want to come back?” Angela asked with sarcasm.

“I,” Ronnie started, then took a breath, and finished, “I don’t know. I miss you, I miss my home, I miss…” And she paused.

“Jack.” Angela supplied.

After a slight pause, Ronnie said, “Yeah, I miss Jack. Oh Angela, what did I do?” Ronnie sobbed.

“Ronnie,” Angela started, until Ronnie interrupted.

“Do you think he’ll ever forgive me?” Ronnie asked between sobs.

“Oh Ronnie, I.” Angela tried.

“I made a mistake, Ange, a huge one.” Ronnie interrupted.

“Ronnie.” Angela tried again.

“How is he?” Ronnie interrupted again.

“Ronnie, Jack was never the same after you left.” Angela said.

“What do you mean?” Ronnie asked.

“He was even quieter and more standoffish than normal. Before long he pretty much stopped spending time with me and Steve. I always thought he only hung around us because of you anyways. Seems as though you weren’t there, I guess he didn’t feel the need to stick around either.” Angela explained.

“He’ll never forgive me, will he?” Ronnie asked.

“Oh honey, I don’t know. Like I said, I haven’t seen him in a while.” Angela said.

“Oh.” Ronnie said sadly.

“No, Ronnie, you don’t understand, it’s not just that he stopped hanging around so much, Jack doesn’t live here anymore. He moved to VIrginia about 4 months ago.” Angela said.

“Virginia, what’s in Virginia?” Ronnie asked.

“I guess there’s an Air Force base there or something that he got transferred to, I didn’t even know he had moved. I would email him every now and again, he would always respond, though sometimes it took days or weeks. Ronnie, there’s something else you should know.” Angela said.

“What’s that?” Ronnie asked quietly.

“I emailed him a couple months ago just to check in, say hello, catch up a little, it took a while before he responded. Ronnie, Jack met someone and got married about 3 weeks ago.” Angela told her friend. A long silence followed.

“He, he got married? Are you sure?” Ronnie finally asked, breaking the silence.

“Yes, I’m sure, Steve and I went to his wedding.” Angela replied.

“You...what? How could he get married so soon after…” Ronnie stammered.

“I don’t know the whole story, only that he hadn’t known her for very long. I’m not even sure when he met her, or how he met her, or if he moved to Virginia before or after meeting her, but Ronnie, he looked happy. And after what happened with you and him, and how closed off he was, I was glad to see him look so happy. His wife seemed nice too, her name is Sara.”

“It should have been me, we’d be preparing for our first anniversary right now.” Ronnie said, sounding hollow.

“You still care about him, don’t you?” Angela asked, but meant it as a statement.

“I still love him, but I guess it’s too late now.” Ronnie said sadly.

“I’m sorry Ronnie. Look, I don’t mean this to sound harsh but, you’re the one who left. I don’t know the details about that, Jack never told me. Then again, he and I only hung out because I was your friend, I was surprised when he invited us to his wedding, but he did, so we went. I’m sorry, but you’re just going to have to live with your choices and move on.” Angela said, matter of factly.

Ronnie kept in touch with Angela after that, though they weren’t as close as they had once been, and Angela and Steve did come to her wedding to Mark. However, they never spoke of Jack again. She often wondered if Angela still had contact with him but didn’t ask, and Angela didn’t volunteer any information.

Onica is pulled out of her memory when her husband comes back into the room with a strange look on his face.

“Something is going on in there.” Mark whispers.

“What do you mean?” She asks.

“I don’t know, but it looked like they were having a pretty serious discussion.” Mark replies, looking back toward the kitchen.

“Abo...um about what do you think?” Onica asks nervously.

“I have no idea, but it felt very uncomfortable to be in that room.” Mark stated, “If he hurts her, I swear…” he adds, and let’s the rest hang. 

Sam and Jack reenter the room and pass out the drinks. Mark and Onica say a quick thank you, and Mark asks, “So, everything alright?”

“Everything is fine, why?” Sam asks in return, as she takes a sip of her own drink.

Looking from Sam to Jack and back again, Mark says, “It seemed like something was going on in there.” He nods towards the kitchen with his chin.

Sam glances over to Jack but when he says nothing, Sam says again, “Everything is fine, Mark.”

Mark looks at his sister, then at Jack, who is now staring into his cup, and says, “Okay.” In a tone that indicates that he doesn’t quite believe her.

“Why don’t we all sit down, maybe the three of you can get to know each other a little.” Sam says, gesturing between Mark, Onica, and Jack.

“Alright.” Mark says as he guides his wife over to the two recliner chairs, while Jack silently walks over to the love seat and sits next to Sam. The furniture is arrayed so that all have a view of the TV but can also comfortably see each other.

When they sit, Onica notices how Jack and Sam are sitting rather close together and how he reaches over and takes Sam’s hand in his. She can’t help but remember how he used to do that with her. She also can’t help but to notice that Mark picked the recliners that are sitting a couple feet apart. Onica figures that after 12 years of marriage and 2 children, they aren’t as lovey dovey as they once were. Though she can’t help the small pang of jealousy she feels. She tells herself she’s jealous that she and Mark don’t hold hands as often. She refuses to entertain the idea that she could be jealous that Sam has Jack’s attention.

“So, how are the kids?” Sam asks, while absent-mindedly stroking Jack’s hand with her thumb.

“The kids are doing well.” Mark answers.

“What are they into these days?” Sam asks, trying to get the conversation going.

“Uh, Luke plays video games all the time and has recently taken an interest in the guitar.” 

Mark says rolling his eyes, then adds mockingly, “He thinks he wants to be a musician.”

“That’s really cool, is he any good?” Sam asks with interest.

“He mostly makes noise with it, he’s been begging to take lessons.” Mark says with a ‘yeah right’ look on his face.

“So let him take lessons.” Sam replies.

“Do you know how much that would cost?” Mark nearly shouts.

Sam looks over at Onica, who is staring at the floor and asks, “Onica, what do you think?”

Onica looks up startled. She feels very uncomfortable discussing her children in front of Jack, and all she says is, “I, uh, I think he’s talented.”

“Of course you do, you’re his mother.” Mark soothes, then adds, “But it’s not a realistic career. It’s a nice hobby but he needs to focus on something stable. Aubry, on the other hand,” Mark smiles proudly, “ has been showing an interest in cooking, and she’s rather good at it.”

“That’s great, perhaps both of their interests can be explored.” Sam suggests.

“Ideally yes, however, guitar lessons would cost an arm and a leg, whereas, “ Mark says gesturing over to his wife and adds, “cooking lessons are free. Oncia, here, is an amazing cook.”

“Since when?” Jack blurts out before he can stop himself, causing everyone to look at him. He clears his throat and tries to cover his flub by asking, “I mean, since when has your daughter taken an interest?”

Mark waits for Onica to answer, but when she remains silent, he answers, “She’s always tried to help in the kitchen, but in the last year or so she’s really made some headway. Even cooking entire meals on her own, though, I’m pretty sure she likes baking better,” he says laughing.

“She makes a really good chocolate cake.” Onica says glancing at Jack knowingly. 

Jack stiffens and asks, “Anyone want another drink?” After a round of nods, Jack gets up and says, “I’ll get them.” As he passes Onica, he glances down at her and when their eyes meet, he gives her a look that indicates he wants her to join him.

Taking the hint, Onica offers, “I’ll help.”

When they enter the kitchen, out of sight from the others, Jack whips around and says angrily, “You can’t do that.”

Taken aback, Onica asks, “Do what?”

“Act like you know me.” Jack says, taking a step closer he adds, “Maybe you knew me once, but don’t pretend like you know me now.”

Onica stands there in shocked silence while Jack gets more drinks from the refrigerator, he shoves a couple in her hands as he walks past her.

Once Onica recovers, she returns to the living room to find Jack already seated and again holding Sam’s hand. She hands Mark his drink and silently takes her seat in the empty recliner. 

Taking the drink from his wife and nodding his thanks, Mark says, “So, Jack, tell me about yourself.”

Jack freezes for a moment, then says, “About me? There’s not much to tell.”

“Surely there’s something, what about your family growing up, how many brothers and sisters do you have?” Mark asks.

Onica perks up at the question, for as long as she has known Jack, he has never spoken about his family. She always asked him about his family growing up, especially when they got serious about their relationship, she wanted to know if she was going to have any future in laws. She always asked Jack if he had told his parents about her, and he always brushed off the question. Asking about his family usually ended in an argument. She demanded that she had a right to know, and he claimed there was nothing to tell. She was very curious as to what he would say now.

Sam, too, looked to Jack with interest. She has known him for nearly 5 years and never once has he spoken of his parents or any siblings. She never pushed, she figured he had a good reason for not talking about them, he would tell her when he was ready to.

Jack inwardly sighs at the question. He hates talking about his family, in fact, he usually avoids it at all costs. In addition to the subject bringing up bad memories for him, it’s just not a fun story to tell. Pretty much all of his emotional issues stem from his childhood, not to mention many hours of mandatory therapy. Jack remembers Ronnie pestering him about his parents, it used to infuriate him. He did not enjoy his childhood and had no desire to reminisce about it, but she just didn’t seem to get it. Sam on the other hand, has been patient, not asking too much and not pushing when he doesn’t want to talk. He appreciates that about her, which is why he’s decided that he’s willing to tell her everything...in time. 

He looks at what he hopes is his future brother-in-law and after a moment of silence, Jack closes his eyes and takes a breath, and says simply, “I have two sisters that I know of.”

Confused, Mark replies, “That you know of? Shouldn’t you know how many siblings you have?”

Jack is still for a moment, hoping he can answer this in a way that ends this particular discussion, he lifts his head and looks Mark square in the eyes and says, “They’re my half sisters, at least one of them is anyway, not sure about the other.”

Sam squeezes his hand and says quietly, “I didn’t know that.”

“Are they on your mom or dad’s side?” Mark asks.

“Both.” Jack says in reply.

Sam was surprised to say the least. She wonders what kind of childhood Jack had if he doesn't even know for sure how many siblings he has, whole or half. Her heart goes out to him and she says quietly, “You’ve never talked about them before.” 

“Why would I? I don’t know them.” Jack replies, indignantly, feeling irritated and wanting this conversation to end. 

“I'm sorry.” Sam says and squeezes his hand again.

Jack looks at her and feels his irritation fade away, he shrugs and says, “It’s not a big deal.”

“What about your parents?” Onica asks, looking pointedly at Jack. She figures it’s worth a shot, seems as though he appears to be in a sharing mood. She’s been trying to find out about his parents since the day she met him, and he always evades the question or gets irritated. All she wanted to know was whether they were still alive or not, it’s not that hard. She had thought for sure he would tell her after they got engaged, surely he would want to invite them. As the wedding approached she asked more and more, and it led to more and more arguments. She could not understand why he just wouldn’t tell her, even if he didn’t get along with his parents, they still had a right to know their future daughter-in-law. 

“I think that’s a discussion for another time.” Jack says, looking at Onica, irritated that after all these years she’s still pushing him.

Sam notices the looks Jack and Onica give each other, it was subtle, Mark probably missed it.. Sam wonders what the looks are all about. She thinks it’s almost as though they’re having a secret conversation, but that’s silly and she dismisses that notion. How could they possibly have a secret conversation, they’ve never met each other. Sam shakes her head at her ridiculous musings as she notices the atmosphere in the room getting tenser by the second.

“Why don’t we figure out what we’re going to do today.” Sam suggests, as a way to break the tension.

“Good idea.” Jack says, glancing back at Sam.

Patting his legs with his hands, Mark says, “What do you have in mind?”

“Well, I thought we could go to the zoo, but I also thought the kids would be here, so now…” Sam says, putting her hands in the air.

“Why don’t we just take it easy and stay here, go to a park for a picnic or something.” Mark suggests.

Sam smiles, “That sounds really nice, what do you think Jack, Onica?”

“Yeah, sure.” Jack answers, while Onica just nods.


	8. The necklace

Chapter 8: The necklace

As Sam is preparing the picnic she is immensely pleased with herself for having already bought everything they would need. In an effort to be prepared for any situation, she bought several different foods for different scenarios that she thought could arise, and she stored things in Jack’s house and hers. Jack had joked that he would need to buy a second refrigerator. 

Sam put several containers, of different sizes, and ziplock bags, also of different sizes, on the counter and starts taking things out of the refrigerator and cabinets and instructs Jack to start portioning things out. She figures they can make sandwiches, so she tells Jack to put some lettuce in the ziplock and some bread in another ziplock and meat and cheese and so on. Sam designates the containers for the condiments, pickles, olives, mayo, mustard, ranch, and some other things. 

Jack looks over at her and says, “I don’t think we have enough containers for all of this.”

“Just put stuff in ziplocks when you run out of containers,” Sam says as she continues pulling things out of the fridge.

Looking at the growing stack of picnic supplies, Jack says, “Sam, I don’t think we need half of this stuff.”

Sam turns to face him and replies, “What do you mean?”

“You’ve got,” Jack says as he picks up different items, “6 different types of lunch meat, 3 types of bread, more sauces than I know what to do with, and what is this cream of mushroom soup for?”

“I wanted to have a variety, that way whatever someone wants, we have. And I thought someone might want to use the soup as a dip or something.” Sam says defensively.

“Who would want to do that? There’s only 4 of us here and at least 3 of us won’t eat this.” Jack says exasperatedly, holding the can and wriggling it in the air.

“You don’t know that, someone might want it.” Sam says, then pauses and asks, “Wait, which 3?”

Jack stills and asks, “What?”

“You said 3 of us wouldn’t use the soup, so which 3?.” Sam questions, looking at Jack like he knows something she doesn’t.

Before Jack could respond, Onica walks into the kitchen and says, “Mark got a call from his boss so I thought I’d come and see if you need any help.”

“Actually,” Sam starts but is interrupted by her cell phone ringing. She pulls it out of the back pocket on her jeans and says, “I guess Mark isn’t the only one to get a work call. I have to take this, so Onica, you can help Jack finish packing the basket, I’ll be right back.” Sam walks out of the kitchen answering her phone as she does so.

Jack watches Sam leave the room and he glances at Onica. She’s wearing the same tight fitting jeans and nice floral blouse from a few minutes ago, but she’s rearranged her hair. It was pulled back, now it’s loose and framing her face. He always liked when she wore her hair like this, it makes her look so beautiful....he stops that train of thought and turns back to packing the picnic. 

Onica takes a couple steps closer and says, “This is a lot of food.”

“Yeah, Sam went a little overboard.” He responds, not looking at her.

“What can I do?” Onica asks.

“Nothing, I can do it.” Jack says as he puts a few more filled ziplocks in the basket.

Onica picks up the can of cream of mushroom soup and makes a face as she asks, “What is this for?” 

“Sam thought someone might want it as a dip, for,” he says twirling his hand in the air, “something.” He finishes lamely.

Scrunching her face up, Onica says, “Not me, I hate this stuff.”

Not taking his eyes off the picnic basket, Jack says softly, “I know.”

Onica looks around to make sure Mark or Sam aren’t coming, when she’s satisfied they aren’t, she asks, “How come you never told me you had sisters?”

Jack closes the picnic basket and sighs, “Because it’s not something I talk about.”

“You didn’t seem to have a problem with it today, or is it just her you don’t have a problem telling things to?” Onica says bitterly.

Jack turns to face her fully and says in a rough whisper, “She’s my girlfriend Ronnie.”

“And I was your fiancé,” She whispers back just as roughly.

Leaning in a little closer, Jack says, “Things are different now, I’m different, I’m not the same person I was back then.”

“Neither am I, but Jack,” Onica looks around before finishing in a quiet whisper, “we were supposed to be getting married. Didn’t you think I would’ve liked to have known about my soon to be in laws?”

“Yeah, well, that all went out the window as soon as you threw the ring back in my face in favor of whoever he was.” He leans in closer and flicks the heart shaped emerald necklace around her neck, and says, “I see you haven’t gotten rid of everything I gave you.”

Onica takes a step back horrified, and self consciously fingers the necklace, she didn’t even think about the fact that he’s the one who gave it to her. She had told Mark that it was a gift from her mother when he asked where she had gotten it. She’s been lying about it for so long that she started believing it herself. Mark would be devastated if he knew that she still wore the necklace her ex lover had given her. A man she had, at one time, been completely in love with. She remembers clearly the day Jack gave her the necklace, it was the first thing he had ever given her. It was their one year anniversary, and they’d been arguing for a few months. She had told him she loved him a couple months prior, and he was yet to say it. He said something about words not mattering as much as actions, which just made her even more angry. She had seriously considered breaking up with him, but then, on their one year anniversary, he completely surprised her. He wrote her a long letter telling her everything he felt for her that he wasn’t able to say out loud. She had read that letter so many times she had it memorized, and if she’s being honest, she could still recite it word for word to this very day. Then he gave her a rectangle jewelry box and when she opened it, she saw a beautiful heart shaped emerald surrounded by white diamonds encased in white gold, which had to have cost him a fortune. She was speechless and had tears flowing as he clasped it around her neck. He whispered the words she had been longing to hear just before he kissed her. When they did eventually break up 3 years later, she took the necklace with her, along with the letter he had written her. She kept the letter hidden, she’s not even sure why she’s kept it all this time. Onica starts to feel herself panic, she hadn’t considered this and if Mark finds out....she suddenly feels very faint. 

Jack sees Onica start to pale, something that used to happen when she became overly stressed. He reaches out for her just as she falls forward into his arms. After steadying her he props her back up and asks, “Hey, you okay?” 

“I’m...fine,” She says breathing hard, then her legs give out and she’s sure she’s going to fall to the floor.

Before she hits the floor she feels strong arms scoop her up and next thing she knows, she’s being cradled in Jack O’Neill’s arms. She had forgotten how easy it was for him to pick her up, she had also forgotten how safe she felt in his arms, especially after one of her fainting spells. Onica starts to calm down and, without thinking, snuggles further into his embrace.

Jack walks over to the kitchen table and gently sets Onica down in one of the chairs. He kneels down in front of her and tenderly moves her hair out of her face with his hand and cups her cheek and asks with concern, “Ronnie, are you alright?”

She peers up at him, still looking dazed and nods, she closes her eyes and her lips curl into a small smile as she presses her face into his hand. After a moment, she opens her eyes and looks directly at Jack. She brings her right hand up and places it on the back of his neck, closes her eyes, and she leans forward. 

Jack feels the gentle pressure on his neck, and it takes him a minute to realize that Ronnie’s face is getting closer. Once his mind catches up, he pulls back and puts his left hand on her right arm and asks, “What are you doing?”

“That’s what I would like to know,” A shocked Mark Carter says, standing in the entryway to the kitchen. Beside him, Sam takes in the scene before her, clear confusion on her face, and if Jack isn’t mistaken, a hint of betrayal.  
Jack snatches his hand away from Onica’s face and pushes his legs up to stand at his full height, while simultaneously taking a step back. He waves his hands in front of him defensively saying, “This is not what it looks like.”

Mart steps forward and says angrily, “Then what is it? Because it sure looked like you were about to kiss my wife.”

“No!” Jack shouts and frantically adds, “I wasn’t...she...here...then...then...fell...and in the chair...checking to see...nothing happened.” He finishes decisively.

Jack hears Sam huff and watches as she turns and walks out the front door. He’s in motion right away as he pushes past Mark calling after her.

Onica turns her head as Mark approaches. How could she have done that? She’s so ashamed of herself. She hadn’t planned on anything like this, she knew things could get awkward but she never thought she’d try to kiss him. She bitterly remembers a time when he wouldn never have pulled away from her as he had done today. She’s so embarrassed, though she’s not sure if she’s more embarrassed that she tried to kiss him, or that he had rejected her. He mentioned the necklace, that’s what started all of this. She had remembered when he gave it to her and how she had felt at seeing it and how her every nerve trembled when he told her he loved her. She had gotten caught up in everything and had forgotten where she was, and now she has to look her husband in the eyes and explain why she was about to kiss another man. A man she had once been engaged to. A man she was once in love with.

Closing her eyes as she turns to face her husband, Onica says, “Mark.”

Mark holds up his right hand, stopping her from continuing and says, “Did you have one of your fainting spells?”

She bobs her head up and down as Mark continues, “Are you alright?”

All Onica can say is, “Yes.”

Mark gets up from his kneeling position and takes a seat on one of the other chairs at the table and sighs as he says, “You haven’t had one of those in a long time.”

Nodding, Onica says, “I know.”

“What caused it?” Mark asks.

Onica unconsciously reaches for the emerald heart as she says, “I don’t know.”

Mark nods toward the necklace and asks, “Something to do with your necklace maybe?”

Onica quickly removes her fingers from the necklace and puts her hands on her thighs, and says, “I…” She starts only to be interrupted by Mark.

“That doesn’t explain why he tried to kiss you,” Mark says plainly, after a brief pause, he finishes, “or why you were going to let him.”

Onica hangs her head as the tears start rolling down her cheeks, and says distraughtly, “I’m so sorry Mark.”

Mark studies her for a moment before he says softly, “I’m going to need more than an apology Onica.”

Onica closes her eyes, this is the moment she’s been dreading. She knows she has to tell him, there’s no other choice. She actually starts to feel faint again so she takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, she repeats that action a few times in an effort to control her rollercoaster emotions. 

She tells herself that she knew this moment was coming at some point this weekend, and here it is. She takes one last deep breath, and with determination she says, “Mark, I need to tell you something, I only ask that you hear me out.”


	9. The truth comes out

Chapter 9: The truth comes out

Mark gets a serious look on his face, sits up straight, and nods slowly.

“I want to start by saying that I love you, so much more than I can explain. You’re such a good man and I don’t deserve you.” She pauses for a moment, overcome by emotions. She takes a breath and steels herself and continues, “I really hope that what I’m about to say doesn’t change how you feel about me.” 

Mark wonders what she could possibly be about to say that would change how he feels. He’s not happy that she nearly kissed another man, but he also knows that she’s not always the most coherent after one of her fainting spells, she could have been confused. Jack happened to be in the room when it happened so it’s reasonable that he would’ve tried to catch her and make sure she’s alright. Onica was dazed and probably didn’t know what she was doing. Though he’s not happy about it, and he really doesn’t trust Jack now, the man did pull away before any contact was made, so he’ll give him credit for that. Perhaps Sam will rethink her choice in men because of this, Mark thinks. He shakes his head, he can’t focus on that right now, his wife has something to say that she thinks is big enough that he might not love her anymore. Nothing could change his feelings for her, he loves this woman with his whole heart.

She asked him to hear her out so he reassures her by saying, “Onica, I love you, nothing you could possibly say will ever change that.”

Onica chokes back a sob at his words, she really really hopes he means what he just said. She steadies her nerves and swallows the lump in her throat, and begins, “About 20 years ago I was in a relationship with someone.”

Mark opens his mouth to say something but Onica holds up a finger, stalling his coming words and says, “Please, let me get this out.”

Mark closes his mouth and nods, Onica continues, “I met him when I was 18 and we started dating. We were together for 4 years, in fact, we were engaged to be married.” She pauses to gauge Mark’s response to that revelation. She had told Mark about her previous relationship but not how long it had lasted, or the fact that she was engaged to the guy. 

She sees Mark’s eyes go dark, the way they do when he’s not happy, he takes a breath and says, “Is this the guy that was a jerk to you, the one who broke your heart?”

Onica looks down and says quietly, “Yes, but that’s not exactly what happened.” At Mark’s quizzical look, Onica continues, “He wasn’t actually a jerk, and the break up was my fault, not his.”

Confused, Mark asks, “Then, why…?”

“Because he was my first love, and it was easier to blame him than to admit the truth. And when I met you, you were so nice and you treated me so well. I thought that if you knew the truth,” she pauses and takes a breath, then finishes quietly, “I thought you wouldn’t want me.”

“Did you cheat on him?” Mark asks.

“No, not technically anyways. A couple of months after our engagement, I met someone on campus.” She looks at Mark and emphasizes, “Nothing happened. All I did was spend some time with him and talk to him on the phone. He actually transferred to a community college a couple cities over, but I kept in touch with him, even drove to visit him a couple of times when I had a break from school.”

Onica looks at her husband, the look on his face says it all. Maybe nothing physical had happened with her and this other guy, but she did cheat on her fiancé, emotionally anyways. She takes a deep breath and says, “My fiancé wasn’t happy about it, and didn’t agree with my view of the relationship. It led to many arguments, and when things came to a head, I accused him of being controlling and I threw the engagement ring he gave me in his face,” she pauses and takes a shaky breath and continues, “I told him I didn’t love him and never did, and I walked out. I changed my phone number so that he couldn’t call me, and I went to the other guy. However, the other guy had a girlfriend that I didn’t know about,” she shakes her head in frustration and continues, “so I had nothing. I was too embarrassed and ashamed to go back to my fiancé , so I dropped out of college and moved to California and I met you a couple years later.” 

Mark screws up his face in confusion. Onica has always been so level headed, how could she have done something so reckless and deceitful? He tells himself that it’s in the past and it doesn't matter today. She’s clearly not that person now. Today, she’s his smart, beautiful, loving wife, and a wonderful mother to their children. He can’t imagine her being this complicated, childish, person she’s described. Childish is the only word he can think to describe her behavior, of course, because she was young back then. Meeting a man at 18 and then planning on marrying him, that’s a huge decision for such a young lady, not that he condones her behavior, but he does understand. She was probably overwhelmed by everything. Mark thinks that he should be upset, but he actually feels sympathy for her. This ex fiancé of hers couldn’t have been a saint, he probably suffocated her, or did something to cause her to find someone else.

Mark shakes himself out of his musings and back to the present and says, “Onica, I can’t say that I’m happy that you didn’t tell me about this before, but I am glad that you’re telling me about it now. I’m just not sure what this all has to do with now and this situation.” He says, gesturing with his hands.

Onica feels her heart rate increase and that faint feeling return. She tries her breathing exercise again with minimal success. She makes a fist with her hand and gently taps it on the table. It was hard telling Mark what she’s already told him, but this, what she’s about to say, this is the thing that may end their marriage. Not to mention, make her responsible for causing Jack more pain if Sam can’t get past it.

Onica closes her eyes and tries to push back the faint feeling, it’s now or never, she takes one more deep breath, blows it out slowly, looks down and says, “The man I was going to marry, is Jack O’Neill.” 

Mark sits there dumbfounded, surly he misheard, there is no way she just said that her ex fiancé is Jack O’Neill, his little sister’s boyfriend. 

“And,” she says, fingering the emerald, “my mother didn’t give this to me, he did.”

Mark is speechless, he has no idea what to say, or even where to begin. She’s worn that necklace since the day he met her, even wore it to their wedding, and now she’s saying that another man gave it to her. Not just any other man, but Jack O’Neill, the man his sister is dating, the man that tried to kiss his wife. At that last thought, Mark slams a fist onto the table and stands up so forcibly that the chair falls over backwards, and stomps over to the front door and flings it open.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

When Jack gets outside he sees Sam standing by the garage with her back turned to him. She doesn’t turn as he approaches, in fact, she acts as though she doesn’t notice him at all, though he knows she does.

He walks over and stands about 2 feet to her side, slightly behind her, giving her space but allowing her to see him clearly if she chooses to. “Sam, nothing happened.” He says quietly. 

She turns her back a little further away and says, “That’s not what it looked like.”

Jack closes his eyes and runs his hands through his hair and says, “I know what it looked like, but I swear to you, nothing happened.”

Sam cocks her head slightly in his direction and says, “You’ve been acting strange ever since you got home, ever since you met her. Maybe nothing happened, but you wanted it to,” she accuses him.

Getting frustrated, Jack snaps, “No I didn't.” He sighs heavily and continues, “Look, I was talking to her, she got faint and started to fall, I caught her and helped her to a chair. I was just making sure she was alright, I didn’t know she was gonna lean in like that.”

Sam turns to face him fully and asks defensively, “Oh, so this is all her fault then, is that it?”

“No, I didn’t mean it like that,” Jack starts, then adds, “I just”

“Are you attracted to her?” Sam interrupts.

“No,” Jack replies immediately.

“She’s my brother’s wife for goodness sake.” Sam snaps back.

The look of betrayal on her face nearly kills him. He hates seeing her like this, he hates even more that he’s caused it. He really hadn’t intended for anything to happen with Ronnie. Though if he’s being honest, if her lips had touched his, he probably wouldn’t have pushed her away, at least not that quickly. Jack feels conflicted over his feelings for Ronnie, he wasn’t happy when she left, and now that she’s back, he doesn’t know what to feel. He loves Sam, he knows that for a fact, and he doesn’t want to lose her, but he does have unresolved feelings for Ronnie. Oh he doesn’t want her back or anything, he just wants to know why she left, why she found someone better. He also can’t help but think about what might have been.

Jack hears Sam sniffle and sees a tear roll down her cheek, he feels a knot twist in his stomach. She doesn’t deserve this, she doesn’t deserve someone like him, someone conflicted and with so much baggage. He should let her go, let her go find someone worthy of all she has to offer, but when she looks at him, his world is complete. When she kisses him, it’s the sweetest thing in the world, when she tells him she loves him, nothing is better than that. When he first met her, he was broken, she’s his glue. He doesn’t know how she does it, but just one look from her and all his pain and loss from the past vanishes. So he should let her go, for her sake, but he can’t, for his sake. He just loves her that much. In this moment he realizes that, yes he did love Ronnie, and was really hurt when she left, but he survived her. He would not survive losing Sam.

Jack walks up and stands right in front of her and says softly, “Sam, look at me.”

Sam stubbornly refuses to avert her eyes from their spot on the ground.

Jack puts his finger under her chin and gently applies pressure until she lifts her head and looks him in the eye, and says calmly, “Sam, please understand that I love you and only you, you’re the only one that matters to me. There is something about Ronnie that I need to tell you, and I swear I will tell you, but it’s going to be a long conversation and I’d rather have it when we won't be interrupted, alright?”

Tears fill her eyes, but Sam nods her acquiescence. Jack leans forward to kiss her when suddenly Sam pulls back, looking angry and asks, “Who’s Ronnie?”

Before Jack can think of a response, a hand touches his shoulder and roughly spins him around only to have a fist connect rather harshly to his left cheek. Jack stumbles back but doesn’t fall, after regaining his footing he touches his left hand to his cheek and says something under his breath.

Sam whips around and sees Mark charging toward Jack, ready to level another solid hit, she steps in front of him and shouts, “Mark, what is wrong with you?”

Trying to push past her, Mark says forcefully, “Get out of my way, Sam.”

By this time, Jack is standing at his full height, ready to defend himself. He can’t believe Mark actually snuck up on him like that. He was so distracted by making things right with Sam that he hadn’t been paying attention. The man has a mean right hook.  
Jack focuses on the scene unfolding in front of him. Sam stands between himself and Mark, who looks like he’s out for blood, and Ronnie, or Onica standing in the driveway watching everything with her hands covering her mouth, while yelling at Mark to stop.

It’s almost as though there’s a time loop happening, again Jack thinks wryly. Onica is crying and says, “Mark, please stop.” Mark ignores her and tries to lunge past Sam, and Sam pushes him back and Jack just stands there, then the whole thing happens again. After the third time, Jack decides this needs to end so he steps forward, only for Mark to sidestep Sam and tackle him like a linebacker going for the quarterback. Both men fall to the ground, Jack trying to dodge punches without actually swinging any of his own. 

Mark is in a rage, Sam has never seen her brother act this way and can’t imagine what is causing him to do so now. Sure he wasn’t very happy about the almost kiss between Jack and Onica, neither was she, but my goodness, talk about an overreaction.

Onica stands there paralyzed, tears freely falling. She knew that Mark wouldn’t be happy about all of this, but she never expected him to react this way. In all the years she’s known him, she’s never seen him like this. He’s lost his temper sure, but right now he’s acting like a crazy man.

Jack takes another two hits to the face before he’s able to get his hands on the front of Mark’s shirt. He pushes him off and rolls to an upright position, firmly grounding his feet, ready for another attack. He’s not disappointed, Mark scrambles to his feet and dashes toward Jack. Jack doesn’t want to hurt Mark, so he quickly sidesteps and grabs Mark’s fast approaching arm, he twirls Mark around pinning his right arm behind his back. Jack applies a little pressure and Mark drops to his knees.

Sam rushes over and orders, “Jack let him go.”

Jack glances from Sam to Mark, and leans down and says in Mark’s ear, “Are you going to stop hitting me if I let you go?”

“Jack,” Sam warns.

With one final look at Mark, Jack releases his arm and backs off. Mark slowly stands, and with a speed and force even he didn’t know he had, he swings and connects one last time, dropping Jack to the ground.

“Mark!” Sam shrieks at her brother, then adds angrily as she makes her way over to Jack, “What in the world has gotten into you?”

Sam kneels over Jack and puts her right hand on his left cheek and asks, “Baby, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Jack says sitting up. He’s now sporting a split lip, a nasty shinner, and possibly a fractured jaw thanks to that last punch. He touches his cheek, and opens and closes his mouth, okay, maybe not a fracture, but it’s sure gonna hurt tomorrow. If his face wasn’t hurting he’d actually be impressed with the ferocity of Mark’s punches.

Sam holds out a hand and helps Jack to his feet. After he’s up and she makes sure he’s stable, she turns her attention to her brother and shouts angrily, “What the heck is the matter with you?”

Mark steps forward and Sam puts out a hand to stop him, he stops at her hand and says seethingly, “I was right Sam, this guy,” he says gesturing to Jack, “is no good. He’s a liar and a jerk.”

Sam looks back and forth between Jack and Mark, she notes Jack is preparing for another attack, one he will probably defend against this time she figures, and asks, “What are you talking about? Jack hasn’t lied about anything and he’s been nothing but nice to you, so you need to back off...now.”

“Fine, he may not have outright lied, but omitting the truth is still a form of lying. And he certainly didn’t tell you the whole truth, neither of them did!” Mark huffs, waving his arms in the air.

Sam is confused, she’s pretty sure her brother has actually gone insane. She looks back to where Jack is standing to see if he has any idea what’s going on. She pauses at his expression, he’s guarded, almost unreadable, but there is an ever so slight hint of something else...guilt, shame, fear. Suddenly Sam isn’t so sure her brother is crazy, but rather, wonders if there is something to back up his claim.

Sam turns back to her brother and slowly asks, “Who are you talking about?”

“Him!” Mark shouts, pointing a finger in Jack’s direction.

“You said “neither of them” told the whole truth, who are they?” Sam asks, already knowing the answer but not wanting to believe it.

“Them!” Mark yells in frustration, pointing both hands in either direction, one at Jack and the other at his wife, who is covering her face, sobbing into her hands.

Sam’s mind starts racing with all kinds of thoughts. She had come into the kitchen just as Jack pulled away from Onica but, did more happen in the kitchen than Jack had said? Had he pulled back because he saw her standing in the doorway? Jack had started acting strange after meeting Onica outside when he had gotten home, had something happened in the garage? Sam chastises herself, she’s being ridiculous, Jack would never do anything like that, not to her, not to anyone. However, she can’t help that little twinge of doubt as she turns to face the man she loves, to see that he’s looking at the ground, and her doubt begins to increase.

Sam steadies herself, but her voice still shakes a little as she asks, “Jack, what is he talking about?”


	10. The fall out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for all views and reviews. I will be updating every Monday morning from here on out until I've posted all chapters. I really hope you all enjoy this.

Chapter 10: The fall out

Jack felt his heart stop, or maybe it sped up so fast it was going to bust through his chest, he’s not really sure. He was planning to have this conversation with Sam, he just wasn’t planning on having it right now. Jack glares over at Ronnie, why did she have to tell Mark about all of this right now? She had asked him to not say anything but then she goes and tells Mark everything? So typical of her.

Jack takes a breath and says, “Sam, I-”

Sam walks over and stands in front of Jack and asks, “Jack, what is going on?”

Jack closes his eyes and sighs, he has to tell her, and he has to tell her right now. He feels angry that he’s having to have this conversation with Sam right now, in front of her brother and Ronnie. He was hoping to have it in private, when things were calm, when he could take his time and explain everything to her. Now, though, tensions are high, Sam is upset about what happened in the kitchen, and the way Mark came out and started pounding on him didn’t help any. Jack knows that what he says here will either temper the situation, or make things much, much worse. He must choose his words wisely. He mentally kicks himself because he’s never been good with words, however, this is really important. His love for Sam is stronger than his shortcomings with words, he can do this.

Once done with his inner monologue, Jack takes a deep breath and slowly says, “I was hoping to have this conversation in private, but the simple truth is that, a long time ago, Onica,” Jack gestures over at her and continues, “or Ronnie, as I knew her,” he takes breaths and says quietly, “and I were engaged.”

Sam is pretty sure she just heard Jack say that he was engaged to her sister-in-law, but that can’t be right, that doesn’t make any sense. Onica is married to Mark, and has been for 12 years, and Jack, well, he was married to Sara. Sam is sure she misheard and is about to say just that when Mark’s voice butts into her thoughts.

“Ask him about Onica’s necklace, you know, the emerald one that you like so much,” Mark demands.

Sam opens her mouth to ask, but Mark apparently can’t wait, and blurts out, “He gave it to her, not her mother.”

Sam looks over to Onica, but all she can see is that heart shaped emerald glistening in the sun, staring at her. Sam remembers the first time she met Onica, she had been drawn to that necklace right away, and had told Onica how beautiful she thought it was. Onica wore it all the time and had said that her mother had given it to her, so it really surprised Sam when Onica had let her borrow it to wear to her high school prom.

Her mother? Jack can’t believe what he’s hearing, he saved for 6 months to buy that for her, put up with all of her pestering, and now she tells everyone that her mother gave it to her? He sets his irritation aside for now because right now, there’s more important things to worry about.

Jack takes a step toward Sam and says, “Sam, I can explain.”

Sam takes a step back, holds her hands up in front of her, and looks as though she’s smelled something foul, and asks, “Explain what exactly?”

Jack takes another step towards Sam only to have her step away from him again, it kills him inside but he holds it together and says, “Sam, it was a long time ago.”

“Then why didn’t you tell Sam about it?” Mark demands.

Sam glares at him and snaps, “Shut up Mark and go figure this out with your wife.”

Mark looks as though that’s a preposterous idea. Why would he want to go talk to Onica about this when yelling at and punching Jack is so much more pleasant? If he’s being honest, he’s not ready to face Onica just yet, this took him so much by surprise and he’s not sure how he’s supposed to react. It’s easy to take it out on Jack, he is the other guy after all. Mark decides he’s not ready to talk to his wife right now so he glares back at Sam and stands his ground.

Onica is heartbroken that Mark won’t even look at her, and she starts feeling dizzy again. She stumbles as she tries to steady herself on something that isn’t there and falls to the ground.

“Onica!” Sam shouts, the two men look over and see Onica laying on the ground and all three of them run over to her, Sam at Mark’s side and Jack is behind Onica.

By the time Mark gets over to Onica’s side, she’s starting to sit up while placing her right hand on her forehead. Mark looks her over and asks, “Are you alright?”

Onica looks at Mark with hazy eyes and answers, “I’m okay.”

Mark stands back up and holds out his hand to help his wife to her feet. Mark lets go of her hands and she loses her balance and falls backwards into Jack. She falls into his chest, causing him to take a step backwards, he puts his hands on her shoulders to keep her from falling back to the ground.

Onica is barely on her feet when Mark steps around her and shoves Jack backwards and shouts, “Keep your hands off my wife!”

Jack stumbles backwards for the second time in two minutes, barely keeping his balance. He throws his hands up in surrender and says, “Hey, she fell, I just caught her.”

Mark charges forward and gets in Jack’s face and says through his teeth, “Just stay away from her.” He starts back over to his wife, then turns and faces Jack again and adds, “And stay away from my sister too.”

Sam has always prided herself for having tremendous control over her emotions in high stress situations. After all, in her line of work, it wouldn’t do to lose control with dozens of Jaffa shooting at you. She put up with Jonas, her ex fiancé that joined the Stargate Program and wound up with a god complex, which got him killed. She’s even put up with being passed over for assignments just because she’s a woman, not to mention the sleazy former CO’s that hit on her and promised her advancements if she did them a favor. Sam put up with all of that, and handled it well. She’s always been cool, calm, and collected, nothing rattles her. Which is why she’s surprised by her reaction now. 

Sam isn’t sure when, but something inside of her snaps at Mark’s last statement. She whirls around at him, gets in his face, and says through gritted teeth, “Do not presume to make decisions for me.” She then turns to Onica and says, “You, you obviously knew about this whole situation, so how dare you come here and pretend to be innocent.” Lastly she turns toward Jack and says, “And you, how could you not have said something?” 

Jack is surprised by her outburst and he tries to calmly explain, “Sam, I swear to you that I didn’t know about this.”

Sam laughs without humor and shouts, “You didn’t know? How can you say that? I’ve talked to you about her before, you knew her name, so don’t tell me that you didn’t know.”

Jack closes his eyes briefly, then replies, “You said her name was Onica, I knew her as Ronnie. I didn’t even think about Ronnie when you mentioned Onica. Sam, I swear, I didn’t know they were the same person, I didn’t know that until this morning when I got home. If I had known, I would have told you.”

Sam shakes her head back and forth and says, “I don’t know what to believe anymore.”

Sam turns and walks back to the house, when she emerges a couple seconds later, she slams the door shut. She walks over to Jack’s truck without looking at anyone.

Jack catches up to her before she reaches the driver side door, he puts a hand on her arm and asks, “Sam, where are you going?”

Sam yanks her arm out of his grip and says through gritted teeth, “Don’t touch me. I’m going somewhere you,” she says, indicating all 3 of them, “aren’t. You can get your truck back later.” With that, she gets in the truck and drives away. She’s completely out of the driveway before the first tear falls. She wonders how things could have fallen apart like this. She’s not even sure exactly where she’s driving to so she just drives, aimlessly.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Mark stands there shocked, he’s not sure what to do. Onica makes a move towards the house and Mark asks, “Where are you going?”

She stops and turns back and replies, “I need to sit down.”

Mark walks over to her and says, “Well, you’re not going in there.”

“Mark,” Onica says, only to be interrupted by her husband.

“You’re not going back into your ex fiancé’s house Onica. In fact, we’re leaving right now.” Mark demands.

“And just how are we going to do that Mark?” Onica questions.

“We’ll call a cab, we’ll walk down the street and have it pick us up there. I’m not staying here for another minute.” Mark gives Jack one last seething look before grabbing his wife’s arm and pulling her along with him.

Jack watches them leave, he hasn’t moved from his position since Sam left. He should go after her, but he knows she needs space. He’ll wait, maybe call her later tonight. He wonders why Ronnie had to show up in his life again, she had hurt him in the past and now, she’s doing it again. It’s like he just doesn’t get to be happy when she’s around. He wonders if he and Sam would even be together now if Ronnie had said something, maybe it would’ve been too weird. It probably would’ve been for the best had they not gotten together, because now the thought of losing her is absolutely killing him. Even if they hadn’t gotten together, he can’t imagine not being completely in love with Sam. Now all he can do is wait and hope for the best.


	11. Separate ways

Chapter 11: Separate ways

Sam parks Jack’s truck on the street outside her house and just sits there. She was so angry when she left Jack’s house that she just drove, she didn’t know where she was going and doesn’t remember driving home. She was worried this weekend was going to be bad, but she never imagined any of this would happen. How could Onica have been engaged to Jack? She knew he had been married before, she even ever so briefly met his ex wife, so why had he not said anything about having been engaged before? The more she thinks about it the madder she gets, though she’s not really sure who she’s madder at. She’s mad at Onica, she should have said something, how could she have kept this to herself? She’s mad at Mark for being judgemental about her relationship and for starting a fight with Jack. She’s mad at Jack for not telling her about his past. She’s even mad at this stupid truck for belonging to Jack. 

With that last thought, she opens the driver door and gets out, she slams the door shut and kicks the tire and shouts, “Stupid truck!” for good measure at the top of her lungs. Surprisingly, she feels better.

Sam walks inside her house and drops Jack’s truck keys on the table in the hallway. Then she sits on the couch, a few seconds later she gets up and walks to the kitchen, then goes back to the couch, then repeats the routine. She feels restless and can’t seem to sit still. She knows she needs to think, it’s going to take so long to process everything that’s transpired today but she just can’t seem to get her thoughts in order.

Sam is on her 6th round to the kitchen when she hears the front door to her house open and close. She alters her path and goes to the hallway to see Mark and Onica.

Feeling irritated at seeing them, Sam asks, “What are you doing here?”

Mark looks at Sam with an ‘are you kidding me’ look and says, “Where else are we supposed to go? We certainly couldn’t stay at your ex boyfriend’s house.”

Taken aback, Sam huffs, “Excuse me? Who said he’s my ex boyfriend?”

Mark shakes his head and gestures erratically and says, “You can’t stay with him Sam, not after all this.”

Sam walks over and stands right in front of Mark and challenges, “And who are you to decide that huh?”

Mark takes a step closer so that they’re nearly nose to nose and replies, “He was engaged to my wife Sam, ENGAGED! You are not staying with him and that’s final.”

Sam is now outraged, how dare Mark decide something like this for her. Yes, she’s mad at Jack, but she still loves him, and quite frankly, it’s her choice as to whether she wants to continue the relationship or not.

Sam is so mad that she turns around and walks a few paces towards the kitchen then she turns back around and calmly tells Mark, “Get out.”

Now Mark is taken aback as he says, “Excuse me?”

Sam looks him in the eye and says slowly and deliberately, “Get. Out. Of. My. House.”

Mark huffs and looks between Sam and Onica before saying, “Fine, I don’t want to be here anyways.”

“Where are we going to go?” Onica asks from her spot in the corner by the door.

Mark turns to her and waves his hand back and forth between them and says, “We’re not going anywhere, I’m going to go see my buddy in Denver. You can stay here.”

Onica takes a step towards him and says, “Mark, please, can’t we talk about this?”

“We’ll talk when we get home, right now, I just need some space.” Mark replies.

“You’re not going to talk to me the rest of the weekend?” Onica asks, sounding really hurt.

Mark shakes his head and says, “We’re leaving tomorrow so I’m going to change my flight and leave out of Denver. Besides, I don’t even know what to say right now.”

Onica covers her face with her hands and starts crying as Mark moves away, no doubt to go pack his things.

Sam watches him go and looks at Onica, she studies her a moment before saying, “I’m going to leave too.”

Onica slowly uncovers her face and looks at Sam and chokes out, “Sam, please, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. Please talk to me.”

Sam backs up a step and says, “I”m sorry Onica, but I can’t right now. That’s the one thing that I can agree with Mark on, I need space and time to think. I can’t do that with you here, knowing that you and Jack…” Sam shakes her head and continues, “I just can’t. You can stay here, I’m going to a friend’s house.”

Sam walks to her room to collect a couple items and emerges at the same time Mark does, they look at each other but don’t say anything.

As they get to the door, Sam says to Mark, “Where are my car keys?”

Mark pats his pocket, and Sam holds her hand out for them.

“What, you want them back?” Mark asks.

“Yes, Mark, I want my keys back.” Sam replies.

Mark throws the keys at her and demands, “Give me a ride to the car rental place.”

“No.” Sam says as she turns to leave.

“No?” Mark parrots. 

“You heard me Mark, I’m not taking you anywhere.” Sam says and walks out the door.

Mark huffs as he follows and says, “Then how am I supposed to get there?”

“I don’t know Mark, and I don’t care.” Sam says as she gets in her car, starts it, and drives away.

Mark stands there with his mouth open. He can’t believe his sister just left him here. He shakes his head angrily and pulls out his phone and calls the cab company that he had used earlier. After giving them the address and being told that it’ll take at least 20 minutes for a car to get there, Mark heads back inside. He really doesn’t want to talk to his wife, but she is just that, his wife, so he goes back in.

He finds Onica sitting on the couch with her knees up to her chin. Under normal circumstances he would feel the need to comfort her, but he now can barely look at her.

She straightens up when he enters the room and says hopefully, “Mark, I, I thought you’d left.”

“I’m waiting for a cab to come.” He replies quietly.

“Oh.” Onica says sounding disappointed, she looks at the floor.

For a while neither of them speaks, finally Mark says, “You could at least take it off.”

Onica looks confused and says, “Take what off?”

Mark sighs heavily and says, “The necklace, the necklace that he gave you. I find it very insulting for you to still be wearing it.”

Onica fingers the necklace and says, “Oh, you’re right, I’m sorry.”

“I can’t believe you’ve worn it all these years.” Mark says, clearly upset, then spits out, “You even wore it to our wedding. You wore another man’s declaration of love to our wedding.”

“It’s not...” Onica starts, grabbing the necklace again.

“Don’t tell me it’s not, I’m no jewelry expert but a heart shaped jewel screams love so don’t lie to me anymore.” Mark says, interrupting her.

Onica takes her hand off the emerald and looks down to the floor and says, “You’re right, I’m sorry. I’ll take it off.”

“And give it back to him.” Mark demands.

Onica takes the necklace off and holds it in her hands, she’s had this for so long, the thought of giving it back is actually painful. She had waited so long to hear Jack tell her that he loved her, and he gave her a beautiful emerald as he finally said it. This necklace had meant so much to her, it became a sort of symbol that she had broken past some of his barriers. Even though he didn’t say the words ‘I love you’ very often, she had this necklace to remind her that he did indeed love her. She had forgotten she was wearing it the day she left, she only noticed after she went to shower that night. She knew she should have given it back, she had a key to Jack’s apartment, and she knew his schedule, she could have snuck in and left it. She had run away to Michael, the guy she had met, and was mortified to find that he had a girlfriend. After that experience, she was too ashamed and embarrassed to go back to Jack’s place to leave the necklace, plus she liked it, and she was still in love with him. Everyday she wore the necklace to remind herself that she had been an idiot, she had a man that she loved and that had loved her in return, she did not want to make the same mistake again. Now, though, as she looks at Mark’s solemn face, she suddenly realizes that she has made that mistake again. She’s lied to the man she loves, and she might lose him over it.

Some tears fall down her cheek and she nods and says, “I’ll give it back.”

They both look over at the window as they hear the sound of a horn, Mark says, “The cab is here.”

Onica looks at Mark as more tears fall and says, “I’m so sorry.”

Mark nods and says, “We’ll talk once we’re home.” He turns and starts for the door, then turns back and looks at his wife and says quietly, “I still love you, you know.”

That causes Onica to sob even harder, as she says between sniffles, “I...love...you...so…much.”

He should go to her, tell her that it’s all going to be alright, but he can’t. He can’t wrap his mind around the fact that she was engaged to Jack O’Neill, that for years she’s been wearing a necklace that he gave her. Mark wants to work things out, they have 2 kids to think about after all, plus he really does love her. Though if Sam doesn’t end her relationship with Jack, Mark isn’t sure what will happen. All Mark knows is that both couples cannot stay together, it’s too awkward and too weird, and he really doesn’t like the idea of his sister being with a man who was also with Onica at one time. He won’t admit that he’s really afraid that if Jack and Onica spend too much time together then their old feelings will resurface and she might leave him in favor of rekindling things with Jack. He can’t think about that right now, he has to get out of here and get some perspective. His ole buddy Pete is just the guy to help him out. Mark looks over at his wife one more time, then turns and walks out the door. They’ll talk and find a way to work things out once they’re home, he’s sure of it.


	12. Bad decisions

Chapter 12: Bad decisions

Sam walks into Janet’s house without knocking and immediately goes to the fridge to get a beer. She’s halfway done with the beer when Janet walks into the kitchen and lets out a shriek, places her right hand over her heart and says, “Sam, my goodness, you scared me.” 

Sam smiles and says, “Sorry Janet, but I did tell you I was coming over.”

Janet comes further into the kitchen and says, “Yes I know, I just wasn’t expecting to walk in here and find you drinking my beer.”

“I’ll replace it.” Sam offers.

Janet waves the offer off and says, “Help yourself. Should I be expecting your brother and the colonel as well?”

Sam shakes her head back and forth as she swallows another mouthful of beer, then says, “Nope, just me.” She goes to take another swallow of beer only to find that it’s empty. Sam glares at the offending bottle before throwing it in the trash and pulling another one out of the fridge. 

Sam opens it and takes a nice gulp, when she turns around, she sees Janet staring at her and asks, “What?”

“Sam, what’s going on?” Janet inquires.

Feigning confusion, Sam says, “What do you mean?”

Janet gives Sam a look that says ‘don’t be coy with me.’ 

“Janet, there is nothing going on.” Sam defends.

Not believing it for an instant, Janet says, “Fine, you don’t have to tell me. Though I do wonder why you chose to come here and not Jack’s house.”

“Maybe I just wanted to hang out with you and Cassie.” Sam suggests.

“Right, and if I were dating someone who looked like Jack O’Neill, I wouldn’t go to his house either.” Janet replies sarcastically. 

Sam lets out a long sigh and says, “Janet, I really don’t want to talk about it.”

Janet nods knowingly and says, “I understand, I just hope everything is alright with you and your brother, and with the colonel.”

Sam smiles sadly and replies, “Me too Janet, me too.”

Janet studies her friend, she’s worried about her. Something is wrong and she should push for more information but Janet knows that Sam wouldn’t appreciate that. She really hopes things are alright. Sam had told Janet that Mark wasn’t happy about her relationship with the colonel, so she knew that Sam was worried about her brother visiting. Things had been going really well between her and the colonel though, so Janet can’t imagine why Sam isn’t at his house if she needed to get away for a while. The fact that Sam is here would seem to indicate that there’s some sort of problem. Hopefully not a big one. Janet is really curious though but figures Sam will tell her when she’s ready to talk about it. In the meantime, she will gladly entertain her friend, besides Cassie will be thrilled to have Sam for a sleepover.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Onica is feeling restless, or guilty, probably both. This weekend has turned out so much messier than she had originally thought. She knew it would be difficult but she never expected Mark to physically attack Jack, she also didn’t expect Mark to up and go to Denver and leave her here to travel home alone. She wasn’t expecting Sam’s reaction either, she figured Sam would be upset but now she’s worried that she’ll never speak to her again.

She starts pacing around the house and wanders into the kitchen, where she finds a bottle of red wine. She knows she shouldn’t, but she gets a glass from the cabinet and pours some of the red liquid into it, swirls it around, sniffs it, then takes a long sip. It’s good, she thinks, probably a bit pricey, not expensive but not cheap either, more than she would pay though. Onica figures she’ll have to replace it, just one more thing for Mark and Sam to be mad at her over.

Onica has nearly finished the bottle of wine when she decides to call Mark. He’s probably already halfway to Denver by now, or maybe he’s already there, she’s really not sure. She walks, or stumbles back into the living room to get her phone from her purse, she scans the room but doesn’t see anything. She stands there for a moment longer trying to remember where she put her purse, though this fog in her brain is making it hard to think straight. Then like a sudden slap to the face, Onica realizes that she left her purse at Jack’s house. In all the chaos, the confession, the fight, the fainting, Mark insisting that they leave right away, she completely forgot to go back in to get it.

She notices the necklace sitting on the coffee table and walks over and picks it up, holding the emerald in the palm of her hand while the silver chain threads her fingers. She looks at it for a long moment, closes her eyes, and with what she thinks is sudden clarity, she makes a decision. Onica unsteadily walks over and snatches the keys to Jack’s truck off the table in the hallway and walks outside. She climbs into the truck, puts it in drive and hits the gas pedal as hard as she can. She is confused when the truck flies backwards and slams into the car parked behind it. Onica’s head hits the headrest and she’s dazed for a moment, and she knows she should get out and assess the damage. At this moment, though, she doesn’t care, she's on a mission and nothing will stop her from seeing it through. She puts the truck in drive, the real drive this time, when the truck goes forward, she pulls away from the street and veers into her lane and continues on.

Onica takes a wide turn into Jack’s driveway rolling over a good sized shrub in the process. She jerks the truck to a stop on top of the shrub, half in the driveway, half on the grass. She nearly falls out of the truck when she opens the door, then she rights herself and leaves the door wide open as she walks up the walkway to the front door of Jack’s house.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Jack is sitting out on his back deck with a beer on the table beside his chair, though the beer was mostly abandoned as he started thinking about everything that had happened today. If anyone had asked him this morning how this day would end, he never would’ve answered with seeing his ex fiancé, getting punched in the face, and watching his girlfriend drive off mad. He had decided to give Sam some space and let her work things out, but he changed his mind and called her about 30 minutes ago, she didn’t answer. Jack is staring at the trees in the yard and hoping he won’t have to add an ex in front of girlfriend this time.

Jack is just about to go inside when he hears a loud commotion coming from the front yard. He gets up and walks around to the front to investigate what’s going on. He cannot believe what he sees when he reaches the front yard. He sees his truck parked over a shrub and only halfway on the driveway. Jack wonders what Sam is doing and why she would plow through his yard like this, he pushes that aside and is just happy that she came back. He frowns when he watches her nearly fall out of the truck, then suddenly, he realizes that it’s not Sam.

“Oh for cryin’ out loud.” Jack mutters as he watches Ronnie abandon his truck and stumble towards his house. 

“Ronnie.” Jack hollers, when she turns and looks at him, he asks, “Whatcha doin’?”

She takes a few more steps towards Jack when she answers with a huge smile and waves her hand back and forth, “Jack!” 

Jack looks at her in disbelief and gestures to his truck and asks again, “Whatcha doin’?”

Ronnie laughs and says, “I brought your truck back.”

Jack looks her up and down and asks, “Are you drunk?”

Ronnie shakes her head and says, “No, I just had some wine. But,” She pauses for a moment, then puts up her index finger and says, “I didn't have the whole bottle.”

“Well you’ve clearly had too much.” Jack accuses.

“Maybe a little.” She giggles.

“And you drove? Are you nuts?” Jack says, feeling irritated.

Ronnie rests a hand on his shoulder and says patiently, “It’s ok, Jack, I didn’t hit the car that hard.”

Jack’s eyes go big and he exclaims, “What? You hit a car?”

“It wasn’t my fault, the truck got confused. I put it in drive and it went backwards.” Ronnie says as though she can’t figure out how that could have happened. Then as an afterthought adds, “You should really get that fixed.”

Jack closes his eyes and shakes his head, then he walks around behind his truck and sees the tailgate bent inwards and the driver side tail light is busted. He says a few choice words to himself then walks back over to where Ronnie is still standing.

“Was anyone in the car when you backed into it?” He asks.

Ronnie shakes her head no.

“Okay, did you at least leave a note?” Jack asks, already knowing the answer.

Ronnie again shakes her head no and adds, “Like I said, it wasn’t my fault.”

Trying to stay calm, Jack asks, “Where exactly were you when this happened?”

“At Sam’s house, some idiot parked on the street behind the truck.” Ronnie replies, as though parking on the street is abnormal.

Jack takes a deep breath to try and control his temper, then very calmly orders, “Go inside, sit on the couch, and don’t move until I get back. Got that?”

“Where are you going?” Ronnie asks.

“You were driving under the influence Ronnie, and you left the scene of an accident. I’m going to go and see if the owner of the car you hit is home and try to convince them to not call the cops.” Jack tells her.

“Then I should come with you, I was driving after all.” Ronnie reasons.

“And that’s exactly why you’re not going. Go inside and do what I told you.” Jack retorts.

Ronnie mutters something under her breath, but she turns and goes towards the house. Jack watches her go inside before he walks over to his truck and figures he can just finish running over the shrub. He’s about to get in the truck and do just that when he decides he should probably do a check to make sure there isn’t any more damage. He walks around to the other side of the truck and sees a flat tire, the stupid shrub actully stabbed the tire. Jack is mad at this point, but he’ll have to deal with this later, right now, he needs to get over there and hope the owner of that car hasn’t already called the cops.

He walks back into his house to grab the keys to his motorcycle. When he enters, Ronnie is right there standing by the door and Jack says, “Geez Ronnie.”

“That was quick, what did they say?” Ronnie asks.

“I haven’t left yet, my truck has a flat tire.” Jack says irritably.

Ronnie looks surprised and asks, ‘How did that happen?”

“I don’t know Ronnie, but it might have something to do with that little tree you ran over.” Jack says angrily.

“Well it’s not my fault the tree was there.” Ronnie says defensively.

Jack closes his eyes and takes a breath and says, “Just go sit down, I’ll be back.”

Ronnie stands there a moment longer and Jack just looks at her. Finally she does as he requested and sits on the couch. Jack takes one more deep breath before he walks out the door, opens the garage, and starts his motorcycle up. 

When he arrives at Sam’s house, he sees the damaged car, it’s an SUV, no wonder it did so much damage to his truck. He parks the motorcycle and walks over to inspect the SUV, the front grill is damaged and the hood is slightly bent, ‘How fast was she going?’ Jack asks himself. He continues his inspection and looks in the driver side window and sees that the airbags have deployed, he hangs his head and figures this car is probably totaled and his insurance premium is about to go up. He was hoping the damage would be minimal and hopefully the owner would agree to just let him pay for it, but that’s not going to happen.

Jack walks up to the front door of the neighbor’s house and knocks. He glances over at Sam’s house, he had noticed that her car was gone as he pulled up. He figures she’s not home, otherwise, she would have come out. Even if she didn’t want to see him, she would’ve come out when she heard the crash.

He waits a little longer before knocking again, still no answer. Good thing he thought to grab a notepad and a pen just in case. He writes a brief note with his phone number, address, and insurance information and leaves it on the windshield of the SUV. ‘Could this day get any worse?’ he thinks to himself. Jack is really not sure what he’s going to do with Ronnie, she can’t stay at his house but he can’t send her back, she’s clearly not in her right mind. He decides he’ll deal with that when he gets home, so he gets back on his Harley and heads back.


	13. Sam and Janet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading and reviewing!!!! It really means a lot to me. :)

Chapter 13: Sam and Janet

“I can’t believe she’s so grown up now.” Sam says as Cassie leaves the room to talk on the phone with her boyfriend, or not boyfriend according to Cassie, just a boy that she likes but won't admit that she likes.

The girl was only about 12 when they found her on Hanka, or PX8-987, as it's referred to by the SGC. Cassie was the sole survivor of her home planet after Nirti paid them a visit, she even tried to use Cassie to kill everyone at the SGC by planting a bomb inside her. Sam had been taken with the girl right away and the feeling was mutual. Cassie had been given permission to stay on earth and Sam had wanted to be the one to adopt her and was heartbroken when she realized that she wouldn’t be able to, not unless she quit SG-1. Thankfully Janet Fraiser, Chief Medical Officer of the SGC, had taken on that responsibility. Her working hours were much more conducive to having a family, and Sam was off world too much in constant danger, so it wouldn’t have been fair to the child. 

They found Cassie in their first year at the SGC, which was 4 years ago now, the girl had a hard time at first, not surprising since she had literally lost everything and everyone she knew. In time however, Cassie adapted, which impressed Sam, and this girl has continued to show unexpected strength and determination. 

At times Sam is still sad that she didn’t get to be the girl’s mother, but seeing her now, Sam knows that Janet was the right fit so she’s happy to be the fun aunt. It doesn’t seem like that long ago that they found Cassie alone on her home planet, and now here she is, 16 and into boys and will be graduating high school in the next couple years. It’s hard for Sam to not think of Cassie as that small, scared little girl she was, but here she is now, not a little girl anymore, but a young woman.

“I know, she’s really grown up a lot in the last couple of years,” Janet agrees, pulling Sam out of her thoughts.

“I wonder when she’ll finally admit she likes this boy.” Sam says smiling and shaking her head, then adds, “It’s so obvious.”

“I seem to remember saying something similar to a young Air Force Captain a couple of years ago.” Janet replies, looking pointedly at Sam, causing her to blush.

Janet laughs a little and thinks back to shortly after she met Sam, and how they had become instant friends, after all there weren’t too many other women working at the SGC in positions of authority, most of the women on base were civilians. 

Sam was the envy of all the women in every department though. She had the distinct privilege of being the only woman on the flagship team, with three of the best looking men in the facility. Though with that privilege, came rumors. Janet had always dismissed the rumors as nonsense, until Sam and Colonel O’Neill got stranded in Antarctica by some freak gate accident. Oh, Janet knew that Sam was close with the colonel, she was close with all her teammates, but after that incident, there was a subtle shift in Sam’s relationship with Colonel O’Neill. Janet had asked Sam about it once, Sam, of course, denied that anything had changed. Janet decided to let it go but kept an eye on the two of them, not to catch them in a compromising position or anything, but to try and make sure her friend didn’t do anything she would later regret. Plus at the time, any relationship between the two officers, outside the professional one, was forbidden by Air Force regulations. 

Janet was always careful to not bring the subject up while at work, the last thing she wanted was to have someone eavesdrop and hear something they shouldn’t. After a little while, and more than a little prodding, Sam finally admitted to having, what she described, as a small crush on Colonel O’Neill. She insisted that it was nothing and the matter was dropped. Then about 10 months ago, an incident occured and both Colonel O’Neill and Sam were forced to admit they had feelings for each other. Janet will never forget it, Colonel O’Neill didn’t actually say the words ‘I’m in love with her,’ but it was definitely implied. When he said that he would rather have died himself than lose Sam, chills ran down Janet’s whole body. 

Teal’c was in the room when all of this had been said too, and he said that he was not surprised that Colonel O’Neill would have been willing to trade places with Sam. He would have been willing to do so for any member of his team stuck on the wrong side of a force field and on a Goa’uld ship that was about to explode. However this was different, the colonel could have escaped, in fact Sam had yelled at him to do just that. 

Another incident occurred about 3 years ago in which Daniel Jackson had been severely wounded on a mission. He had been hit with several staff blast shots, there was no way he was going to survive, the colonel, however reluctantly, left Daniel at Daniel’s urging. In the end it had all worked out and everyone had survived, but the colonel didn’t stay to die with Daniel like he had been willing to do with Sam. The colonel has a rule that no one gets left behind if he can help it. He also has a rule that his team’s safety comes first, and he gets as many of them home as he can. In the case with Daniel, Colonel O’Neill had made the best decision possible, there was no sense in allowing his entire team to die when he could get three out of four of them home safely. 

In the case with Sam and the force field, Sam wasn’t injured, just stuck on the wrong side of a force field, the colonel could have escaped, there was nothing stopping him. It’s not even that he was distracted trying to disable the forcefield, he had tried, and failed to do that, there was literally nothing he could do for Sam. The best command decision would have been to save himself, lose one to save more. So when the colonel said that he would rather have died too, he wasn’t saying that he would have traded places with her like Teal’c had thought. No, what the colonel was actually saying was that he would rather have died with Sam than go on living without her.

Just a couple months after that, SG-1 had been captured and forced to work in an underground factory with memory stamps, preventing them from remembering who they really were. Apparently things happened and things got said between the colonel and Sam that couldn’t be undone, or unsaid. They both had a hard time trying to work together after that. Janet isn’t sure exactly what happened but somehow or another, the regulations regarding interpersonal relationships were altered, and next thing she knew, Sam and the colonel were in a full fledged relationship. So much for it only being a small crush, Janet thinks wryly, though she couldn’t be happier for her friends. 

“That was different.” Sam says, pulling Janet back to the present.

Janet laughs and says, “Oh yes, because you were never a girl who wouldn’t admit to liking a boy.”

“Shut up,” Sam says chuckling, then adds, “That was different, Cassie is 16 and won’t admit to liking a boy in her class.”

“Oh yes, you were much different, you were 31 and wouldn’t admit to liking a boy you worked with, but that sure seems to have changed.” Janet retorts.

“Oh stop it.” Sam says, blushing a deep shade of red.

Sam wants to be upset, especially after everything that’s happened today, but Janet is about to fall out of her seat from laughing and Sam can’t help herself and joins in. At some point the laughter turns into sobs, for Sam anyways, and Janet is at her friend’s side rocking her as she cries. Janet rubs Sam’s back and says soothing things but makes no move to end the embrace. She just holds Sam until she’s ready to talk.

Finally, Sam lifts her head and looks Janet in the eyes and says, “I’m losing him Janet.”

“Oh honey, why do you think that?” Janet asks, concern written on her face.

Sam closes her eyes in an effort to stop the tears and after a moment she starts speaking. 

Janet sits there quietly and patiently as Sam tells the whole story. When Sam finishes, Janet tries to process everything, and keep straight who did what and when, it’s all very confusing. 

Janet decides not to ask questions to clarify things, that’s not what Sam needs right now. No, right now Sam needs a friend and a listening ear. All Janet says is, “I’m sorry all of this has happened Sam, I mean, what are the odds?”

Sam laughs bitterly and says, “I shouldn’t be surprised, after all, it always seems to be too much to ask that I get to be happy for any length of time.”

“Sam, Jack loves you, I know that his ex fiancé being your sister-in-law is awkward, but that won’t change how he feels about you.” Janet reasons.

“He almost kissed her.” Sam says softly.

Janet gasps, as she did not expect for Sam to say that. “Why would he do that?” she asks.

“He said it was her that tried to kiss him, but it takes two.” Sam replies sadly, then adds, “And now Mark is demanding that I end things with him and I just don’t know what to do, Janet.”

Janet reaches over and takes Sam’s hand in hers and asks, “You love him, don’t you?”

Sam nods and Janet continues, “Talk to him, hear him out, let him explain his side of all of this.”

Sam nods again and says, “He called me a little while ago, but I couldn’t talk to him just yet, but you’re right, I do need to talk to him.” She sits back on the couch and lets out a long breath, then adds, “Tomorrow though. I can’t deal with it today, I can’t even go back to my house because she's there.” Sam says rolling her eyes.

Janet nods in understanding, claps her hands as she stands and says, “Well, you can stay here for as long as you need. Why don’t you help me figure something out for dinner.”

Sam looks at her watch and is surprised when it reads 16:43 and she says, “Whoa, when did it get to be almost 5?” Then as an afterthought, she adds, “I missed lunch.”


	14. Mark's revelation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Thank you all again for reading and reviewing! I have say that this chapter surprised me the most when I wrote it. Pete makes an appearance and I hate Pete, I enjoy fanfiction where Pete is a jerk who gets what's coming to him. So I was very surprised when I wrote him as a, dare I say it, likeable guy. I tried to to find a way to make him a jerk but it just didn't fit and this made more sense. I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 14: Mark's revelation

Mark can't decide if the drive to Denver is long or short, but either way, he's here now. He glances at the navigation system in the rental car, 30 more minutes and he should be at his destination. He feels bad about leaving, especially with Onica crying the way she was. Mark just can't fathom why she would lie to him, he wonders what else has been a lie. If she had only said something, then Sam would never have started dating Jack and none of this would have happened.

Speaking of HIM, how can Sam possibly think she can stay with him? It's not going to happen, his sister will not keep dating his wife's ex fiancé. It's just too weird. No, Sam will just have to end it and that's final.

The more Mark thinks about everything, the angrier he gets. He decides that he needs to think about something different, so he turns the radio on only for the song 'Does he love you' by Reba McEntire to be playing. He glares at the radio, the last thing he wants right now is to listen to a song about a love triangle. Okay, he's not exactly involved in a love triangle, but he did just meet his wife's ex lover and the jerk did try to kiss her, so close enough. Mark changes the station and the song 'Remind me' by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood comes on. Great, now Mark is thinking about Jack and Onica being all over each other. Now that's an image he never wanted. At this point Mark decides to turn the radio off, he figures he's better off stewing in silence, without help from songs that remind him of his situation.

Before Mark can dwell any further the GPS system announces that he's arrived at his destination. He looks around and sees his buddy's house and parks the car. The street is filled with houses on every lot, not super nice and expensive houses, but nice enough. His friend's house is a small panel sided one story house. The yard, if you call this a yard, isn't fancy, there's hardly any grass and no trees. It's not much to look at but Mark figures that it's less upkeep, and he knows that his friend is busy so he probably doesn't mind not having to mow every week. Mark steps out of his rental car just as he sees his friend coming out of the house to meet him, his friend says, "Hey Mark, how are you buddy?"

Giving his friend a bro hug, Mark replies, "Hey Pete, it's been a long time."

"Yes it has," Pete says smiling, then he bends over and looks through the car window, he frowns when he sees nothing and asks, "Where's the wife and kids?"

Mark shuts the front door, opens the trunk and pulls out his suitcase. After he shuts it, he says, "It's a long story, why don't we go inside and I'll tell you."

Pete nods and leads the way inside, he's concerned about his long time friend. Mark had called him a couple hours ago and said that he was able to come to Denver to see him after all, Pete just assumed he'd have his family with him.

Once inside Pete shows Mark to the guest room, tells him to make himself at home, then excuses himself when he hears his phone ringing.

After Mark gets himself settled, he pulls his phone out and dials Onica's number, but just can't bring himself to push the call button. It's probably better he doesn't talk to her just yet anyways, as he's still so angry. He'll talk to her after he's had time to really calm down. He puts his phone aside and heads out of the room in search of Pete.

Pete looks up from his spot on the couch when he hears Mark walk in and says, "Beer's in the fridge if you want one."

Mark nods and changes direction and heads for the kitchen. After getting a bottle of beer, he goes back to the living room and sits down in an easy chair.

Pete studies his friend for a moment before he says, "Ya know, it's not that I'm not happy to see you and all, but wanna tell me what's going on?"

Mark takes a long drink of his beer then proceeds to tell Pete the entire story. When Mark is done, Pete sits there in silence for a moment processing everything Mark has just said.

Pete takes a deep breath and after blowing it out says, "Well, that's random."

"You see my problem now?" Mark replies.

Pete sits forward and puts his elbow on his knees and says, "Yeah man, that sucks. What are you going to do?"

Mark shakes his head and says, "I don't know. This is such a mess."

Pete sits back against the couch now and puts his beer aside and says, "Yeah, that is totally bizarre."

"Tell me about it, I mean, how could something like this happen? What are the odds that my sister would start dating my wife's ex fiancé?" Mark asks in disbelief.

"Yeah, that's rough man." Pete sighs.

"I guess the only good thing is that my sister will be single again soon." Mark says looking at Pete knowingly, then adds, "If you're still interested."

Pete leans forward again, looks down to the floor, then back up at Mark and says, "Mark, look man, don't take this the wrong way but, from what you've said, it sounds like your sister is really into this guy. I don't think it would be right if I swooped in, ya know?"

Mark waves his hand back and forth and replies, "No, no, Pete, she only thought she was into this guy, but now, after everything, there's no way she can make things work with him."

"And I suppose that's her business," Pete starts, then adds, "Besides, I'm seeing someone."

Mark sat up at this, "What? You are?"

"Yeah, that was her that called right after you got here. We were supposed to have plans tonight but I told her an old buddy of mine was coming over so we rescheduled," Pete says in reply.

Mark looks down to the floor and says, "Well, I'm happy for you. I guess I was just hoping that you and my sister would meet and hit it off."

Pete lets out a breath and says, "And I would love to have met her, but man, from everything you were saying, she sounded happy. I didn't want to mess that up. Besides, I met Sofia, and she's wonderful. I can't imagine being with anyone else now."

Mark nods slowly, "That's great Pete, really."

Pete gets up and walks over to the chair that Mark is in and pats him on the back and says, "Everything is going to work out man. Things with your sister, things with your wife. I don't know how, I just know things are going to work out."

"I don't see how," Mark says dejectedly, then adds, "Onica lied to me, and Sam is dating her ex fiancé. And the guy is a jerk, this is all his fault."

"How do you figure that?" Pete asks, confused.

Mark shrugs and says, "Who else's fault could it be?"

"Ya know Mark, my mom was a therapist and I learned a thing or two, so how about I ask you some questions and see if we can work this out." Pete suggests.

Mark stands up and turns to face Pete and says, "I don't need a therapy session."

Pete calmly lifts his hands up in the air and asks, "Then why did you come here?"

That made Mark stop, he had no answer for that, so Pete continues saying, "Why don't you sit back down and let's reason this out."

Mark sits and nods his head and mutters, "Fine."

Pete nods now and says, "How about we start with identifying the problem."

"The problem is HIM, Jack, he's the problem." Mark all but shouts.

"Okay, let's start there then." Pete replies patiently, then asks, "How exactly is Jack the problem?"

Mark looks as though he can't believe this needs explaining, but he goes along with it anyways and says, "He's my sister's boss, he shouldn't be dating her in the first place. If he wasn't then none of this would be happening."

Pete sits back and rests his right ankle on his left leg and puts his right index finger on his chin and asks, "They're both Air Force right?" After Mark nods, Pete says, "I thought that wasn't allowed if they work together?"

"It's not, but I guess there's an exception being made, Sam said it's all above board." Mark sighs.

Pete nods slowly, "Okay, I've never heard of that, but it's been a while since I was in the Army, so what do I know? Anyways, there's nothing wrong with the two of them dating, legally?"

Mark just shakes his head, then Pete continues, "So, if there's nothing wrong with it, why don't you like him?"

"Because he's a jerk!" Mark reiterates.

Pete chuckles a little and says, "So you've said, but you haven't actually said what makes him a jerk."

Mark huffs and explains, "A few years ago, Sam was dating a guy named Jonas Hanson, they actually got engaged. Anyways, Jonas was Air Force, special forces, and the guy was a total nutcase. He was rude and controlling. He made all the decisions and Sam just had to go along with what he wanted."

"That doesn't sound too good, but how does that explain why Jack is a jerk?" Pete asks, curiously.

Mark looks at Pete like he's dumb and says, "Um because Jack is exactly the same. He's Air Force and ex special forces, the same type of guy that Sam always falls for. Which is exactly why I tried to get her to meet you."

"So Jack is rude and controlling too?" Pete asks, ignoring the last thing Mark said.

"Well, I," Mark starts, but realizes he doesn't know what to say.

Pete looks at Mark quizzically and says, "You know Mark, just because there are some similarities in Jack and Jonas's jobs, that doesn't automatically make Jack a jerk just because Jonas was."

Mark just sits there in silence stewing. Pete looks at his friend and knows that he's hit the nail on the head, now he has to drive home the point so Mark can understand it too, though Pete suspects that Mark already knows.

"It seems to me," Pete starts slowly, then continues, "that Jack isn't really the problem, he's just convenient to blame. And the fact that he was engaged to Onica in the past, makes it really easy to blame him for everything."

"If it's not his fault then who's fault is it?" Mark asks, defiantly.

Perhaps he was wrong, Pete thinks, maybe Mark didn't get the point after all. Pete takes a breath and says patiently, "It's no one person's fault Mark. A series of events and decisions made by all four of you took place that led to this."

Mark looks up at Pete confused and asks, "What are you saying?"

Pete sighs and answers, "I'm saying that a long time ago, Jack and Onica met, fell in love, and planned to get married. For whatever reason, that didn't work out and Onica met you, and Jack met your sister. No one could have predicted that would happen, and you certainly can't change the past. Yes, it makes things awkward now, but that doesn't mean that Jack is the bad guy, or that he's the wrong one for Sam."

"How could he not be the wrong one?" Mark argues.

"Mark, consider this," Pete says carefully, then continues, "you're the big brother, you saw your sister in a bad relationship before and you don't want her to go through that again." Mark nods, then Pete finishes, "Well, then you get the idea for me and your sister to meet, but she turns down your offer to set us up and tells you that she's already seeing someone, and the new guy is Air Force, special forces and all you think is that this is going to be a repeat of last time."

"I just want what's best for her." Mark says quietly.

"Of course you do." Pete replies, understandingly, then adds, "But Mark, you have to understand that your sister is a grown woman, one capable of making her own decisions, and those decisions aren't always going to be the ones you think she should make, but that doesn't make them wrong."

"How could it not be wrong?" Mark shouts, then adds, "Look what's happening now, all because she's dating him."

Pete closes his eyes and feels his patience running thin. There's a reason he didn't become a therapist like his mother. He looks at Mark and says bluntly, "Mark, the real problem here is that you're not getting your way." When Mark starts to say something, Pete stalls him by raising his finger, then adds, "You had everything planned out, you told me as much. You could set up a meeting for me and Sam and she and I would hit it off right away and by this time next year we'd be married. Well, things didn't go that way, she's with someone else, and apparently she's in love with him, and you're just going to have to get over that. Besides, I'm with Sofia, and if I had met your sister, I may not have met Sofia. And I'd like to think that things worked out the way they were supposed to."

Mark sits there stunned, he can't believe Pete just said all of that. Though he has to wonder if Pete is right, is he mad because Sam didn't take his offer to meet Pete? Even if that's true, it still doesn't solve the fact that Jack was engaged to Onica.

Pete breaks the silence and says, "I'm sorry that you're not happy about this Mark, but I think you need to acknowledge that Jack isn't the jerk you think he is. Only then can we address the rest of this situation."

Mark bobs his head from side to side for a moment thinking, then he lets out a long breath and says reluctantly, "I guess you're right. I don't know him all that well but from what Sam has told me, he seems like a decent guy." Mark takes a deep breath and lets it out with a sigh saying, "I probably formed an opinion based on Jonas, and I probably decided I didn't like him because I wanted Sam to give you a chance."

Finally, Pete thinks, finally Mark gets it. His friend has always been strong willed and stubborn, but he's also proven to be reasonable once he gets out of his own way.

Pete understands why Mark is frustrated, he himself was disappointed when Sam turned down meeting him, but about a month later, he met Sofia and he couldn't be happier about that. Of course Mark didn't tell him right away that his sister was already involved with someone when he offered to set him up with her. He was a little upset with Mark over that, I mean, what an awkward position to be put in. After he found that out, he was kinda glad Sam had not agreed to meet him.

"So... what now?" Mark asks quietly, pulling Pete out of his thoughts.

"Now, you have to decide what to do," Pete says, looking straight at Mark.

Mark shakes his head, "I don't know what to do." Then as an afterthought, he adds, "I told Sam to break up with him."

Pete just stares at him and Mark says sheepishly, "I guess that probably wasn't the best thing to have done."

"Probably not," Pete says in reply, then adds, "Mark, when all of this is said and done, you want to have a relationship with your wife and sister right?"

"Of course." Mark says, shooting Pete a look.

"Then making demands isn't the way to go. I mean, how will your sister feel if you and Onica work everything out and are happy, but she's miserable because you made her break up with the man she loves?" Pete asks, pointedly.

Mark hangs his head, feeling ashamed. He knows he shouldn't have reacted the way he did, but he was just so angry. He had never considered that he was angry at Sam because she didn't listen to him, and that he was blaming Jack for everything because of that. He also never expected Onica to have kept such a huge secret from him. He feels like his whole marriage has been a lie. Suddenly he wonders if he demanded for Sam to break up with Jack because he didn't want her to be happy if he wasn't. What kind of person is he? Surely he should want his sister to be happy no matter what happens with him and Onica.

He looks back up at Pete and says slowly, "I'm the jerk."

Pete shakes his head and replies, "You're not a jerk, Mark. You certainly have reason to be upset. You just need to be sure that you're upset about the right thing."

"What am I supposed to do?" Mark asks, feeling desperate, then as tears fall adds, "How are we supposed to get past this?"

Pete feels bad for his friend, he hates seeing him like this. What a messed up situation, he really hopes everything can work out for everyone.

A sudden thought occurs to Pete and he asks, "Do you love your wife?"

Mark looks up, stricken and replies, "Of course, how can you ask such a thing?"

Pete nods and asks, "And you love your sister right?"

"Yes, of course I do. What are you getting at?" Mark asks, feeling irritated that his friend would ask him such questions.

Pete chuckles slightly and says, "Love is all you need bro. The rest are only details, and if you all love each other, which I know you do, then you can figure this out in a way that makes everyone happy."

Mark huffs and says, "You make it sound so simple."

Pete shakes his head, "Naw man, it won't be simple but, this is your family, so you adjust."

Mark nods slowly and says, "You're right, oh man I was such an idiot. I was rude to Jack, I demanded that Sam break up with him, and I left my wife crying on the couch," then in a whisper he adds, "They'll never forgive me."

Pete walks over and pats Mark on the shoulder and says reassuringly, "Yes they will, but not if you don't talk to them."

"I punched him in the face," Mark says quietly.

"Come again?" Pete asks.

"Jack, I punched Jack in the face. Though thinking back on it, I'm pretty sure he let me," Mark says sitting forward, cupping his hands around his face.

"Why do you say that?" Pete asks.

"He never tried to hit me back," Mark sighs.

Pete nods, "Probably for the best."

Mark nods, then stands and looks at Pete and says, "Yeah probably, I'm gonna see if I can switch my flight back, it might cost extra, but it'll be worth it."

Pete watches Mark leave the room and smiles softly. He was always annoyed when his mom psychoanalyzed him with her therapy skills, but right now he's glad that he actually listened and watched her. He may have just saved Mark's marriage and his relationship with his sister.

About 20 minutes later, Mark reemerges looking solemn and says, "Well, I can't change my flight back, my spot has been filled, so I guess I'm stuck."

"I'm sorry to hear that, I guess there's nothing they could do?" Pete asks.

Mark nods and says, "No, not unless someone cancels, in which case I'm," he looks at the piece of paper in his hand, "14th in line, so it's not likely."

"Gee that sucks," Pete says, not knowing what else to say.

Mark plops down on the couch and says sadly, "I called Sam and Onica, neither of them answered, I guess they don't want to speak to me."

"Give them some time, they'll come around," Pete assures his friend.

"My flight leaves at 10:43 tomorrow morning, if Onica doesn't call me back before then, I guess I won't get to talk to her until she gets home. Her flight leaves at 2:50," Mark says dejectedly.

"Maybe she'll call you before her flight takes off," Pete suggests, hopefully.

"I hope you're right, I really want to talk to her and try to make things right. I hate us being mad at each other," Mark says, still looking down.

"Well, " Pete says, slapping his knees and standing up, "how about we have a boys night in then? Order pizza, play cards, and drink beer," Pete suggests cheerfully.

Mark smiles a little and nods and says, 'Yeah, that sounds good."


	15. Jack's day gets worse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I tried something different with the scene separation, not sure if it worked out or not lol. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter, it's a bit long. Thank you all for your reviews, it means so much. Please remember to be kind, thanks!!!!!!!

Chapter 15: Jack’s day gets worse

Normally Jack O’Neill enjoys cruising down the road, any road, on his motorcycle. However, today he’s finding no pleasure in it at all. Mainly, he’s not looking forward to what is awaiting him at his house. He’s also not looking forward to getting a phone call from the neighbor who’s car Ronnie backed into. And he’ll have to get his truck fixed. 

After Jack parks the motorcycle back in the garage, he takes a deep breath, and walks to the front door. He slows his pace as he gets closer to the door and seriously considers tucking his tail and running, it would certainly look undignified but it could be worth it. After deciding that he should just get this over with, he ever so reluctantly, opens the door and steps inside. He makes his way to the living room and finds Ronnie asleep on the couch. Jack heaves a sigh of relief, at least he doesn’t have to deal with this right at this moment. He looks at her laying there a moment longer, then decides that he really should go get his truck unstuck and change the tire. He sighs again, this time in aggravation, and heads back outside and gets to work.

After working on getting the shrub out from under the truck for a good couple hours, Jack starts to wonder if his truck might be a permanent lawn ornament. How big is this stupid shrub? Jack is sure that the shrubs in his yard were not this big. It’s like every time he thinks he has it, there’s another piece, and that’s not counting the shard stabbing the tire. He’s a little concerned that there could be more damage than he originally thought. 

The more he works, the more he thinks he should just leave this for the insurance to fix. But then he would have to explain exactly how this happened, and he’s hoping to avoid getting the police involved, however, if they or the owner of the other car suspects drunk driving, they will undoubtedly report it to the police. 

Jack works some more for what seems like hours, but in reality was only about 10 minutes, when the stupid shrub finally comes free from under his truck. He makes a mental note to cut down ALL the shrubs in his yard. He thought they looked nice until this happened, now he just hates them. Jack sets his sights on the tire, and the more he looks at it, the more dismayed he becomes. A large branch of this shrub stabbed the tire, he can’t even begin to fathom how exactly this happened. He briefly considers getting his baseball bat and just finishing the truck off.

Jack looks at it for a moment longer before he jacks the truck up, as he does, the back axle falls to the ground. “Oh for cryin’ out loud.” Jack mutters to himself. Yep, definitely more damage than he originally thought. He wonders if his truck might be totalled too. Jack decides to just stop and let the insurance tow it somewhere, somewhere far far away from him.

Jack is just about to head back into the house after putting his tools away when he sees a car pull into his driveway, a police car. Jack groans inwardly, he can only assume that the owner of the other car decided to skip calling him and called the police, great. 

Jack changes direction and heads for the car. He’s a few feet away when the officer exits the vehicle and he halts his progress. He’s just a kid, Jack thinks. Can’t be any older than 25.

“You Jack O’Neill?” The officer asks.

“Yes,” Jack replies, he can’t bring himself to call this kid sir.

“I’m Officer Dwight Carlson, I’m here because of a report from a,” he pauses and looks at his notes, “a Mr. Victor Webber. He claims you left a note on his vehicle saying that you backed into it?” He looks over at the truck, points his thumb over his shoulder and says, “I’m guessing the report is true?”

Jack considers what to say, he can’t tell this officer that Ronnie was the one driving. One look at her and she’d be arrested for driving under the influence. Thankfully, years in the special forces and black ops has given Jack the ability to spin a tale and make it sound believable. Though he has learned that the best way to lie is to tell the truth, just alter a few details.

“Yes, it’s true,” Jack says.

“You mind telling me exactly what happened?” Officer Carlson asks.

“I backed into his car by accident,” Jack says, figuring the less information the better.

The officer narrows his eyes and says skeptically, “The damage to Mr. Webber’s vehicle is pretty significant, exactly how fast were you backing up?”

Jack sighs, “Faster than I should have been.”

“Where were you parked?” he asks.

“On the street in front of Mr. Webber’s SUV.” Jack says as though that should be obvious.

Officer Carlson nods and asks, “And what were you doing parked over there?”

“My girlfriend lives next door, I was at her house.” Jack replies.

The officer perks up at that and asks, “And what’s her name? I’ll need to contact her too.”

Jack shakes his head and says truthfully, “She wasn’t there when I backed into his car.”

“So you just hang out at her house without her being home?” The officer asks, not really believing Jack.

Jack sighs again and says patiently, “She was there, we had an argument about something and she left, I left shortly after. I was upset and wasn’t paying attention and put the truck in reverse instead of into drive, that’s how all this happened.”

Officer Carlson nods and Jack silently sighs in relief as it appears that the officer is buying his story. “I take it that that’s your truck?” he asks and continues after Jack nods, “It looks as though you had a little trouble parking your truck too.”

This is where Jack needs to twist the truth a little more, he says, “Yes, my truck was a little more damaged from the accident than I thought and the power steering went out suddenly as I got home. This is the result.” Jack says gesturing over to his truck.

“Were you drinking?” Officer Carlson asks, pointedly.

“No.” Jack says, and that’s true he thinks to himself. He was drinking a beer when Ronnie first got here but that was a few hours ago, and he wasn’t even buzzed.

“Given the damage to Mr. Webber’s vehicle and the way yours is ‘parked,’ I’m going to have to check.

Jack lifts his head and sighs, but complies with the sobriety test. After walking a straight line with his arms outstretched, and reciting the alphabet forwards and backwards, he threw the last bit in just to prove a point, Officer Carlson finally seems to be satisfied. This is so undignified, Jack thinks, the things he does for people.

Officer Carlson nods his head and says, “I’ll just need to see your driver’s licence.”

Jack hikes his thumb behind him and says, “It’s inside.”

After retrieving his license, Jack waits for Officer Carlson to run his information. He’s sure to see the speeding ticket he got a few weeks ago, which is so gonna suck.

Officer Carlson saunters back over and hands Jack his license and says, “It looks like you’ve received a speeding ticket and a parking ticket in the last couple months.”

Darnit, Jack forgot about that parking ticket. He parked in a 15 minute spot for 20 minutes and got a citation for it. 

“I took care of those,” Jack states.

Officer Carlson nods and says, “That’s good, but I’m going to have to cite you for causing an accident, leaving the scene, and reckless driving, and with the points already on your license, I’m afraid it’s going to result in a suspension of your license.”

“Are you kidding me? Leaving the scene? The man wasn’t home, I left a note.” Jack says, irritatedly.

“Yes sir, but you didn’t report the accident.” Officer Carlson replies, and hands Jack three tickets.

Jack looks at the tickets and sags his shoulders in defeat. He can fly multi-million dollar aircrafts but he can’t drive a car?

Officer Carlson suggests Jack file a claim with his insurance and warns him not to get caught driving on a suspended license before bidding him a good night.

Jack is irritated, to put it mildly, but he takes the time to call his car insurance company and get things started. By the end of the call Jack feels sorry for the poor agent who had to deal with his bad mood. The woman was trying to be helpful and promised him that they could have the truck towed to a body shop for assessment no later than Monday. Jack was not having any of that and tore into the poor woman until she guaranteed that someone would be out first thing in the morning to tow the truck, even if she had to do it herself. After hanging up, Jack feels like he should send that poor woman a giant bouquet of flowers by way of an apology. He’s so mad at everything that’s happened today and he pretty much took it all out on her.

Growling to himself, Jack decides it’s time to head back inside and deal with the Ronnie situation. In all honesty, he’s been avoiding entering the house. He did briefly to fetch his license, and noted that Ronnie was still asleep on the couch. At least she should be more sober now. Before he goes back in though, he calls Sam one more time. It rings three times and goes to voicemail, so he hangs up and sends her a text asking her to call him.

Jack walks into his house, sets the tickets down on the table, and replaces his license back in his wallet, not that it does any good right now. He then goes to the living room and sees Ronnie awake and sitting on the couch, drinking directly from a bottle of whisky.

“You’re drinking again?” Jack says, and walks over and takes the bottle from her.

Ronnie mildly protests but doesn’t make a move to get the bottle back. Jack returns the bottle to the cabinet in which it came from and returns to the living room. Ronnie is now crying.

Jack cringes, he’s not sure what to do, he doesn’t want her to stay here but he can’t send her back to Sam’s house in the state she’s in. He also can’t just let her sit there crying. 

Jack takes a step closer and gently asks, “Are you alright?”

Ronnie looks up as tears continue to roll down her cheeks. After a moment she holds her hand out to Jack and says, ‘Mark wants me to give this back.”

Jack walks a little closer to see what she’s holding, it’s the heart shaped emerald necklace. Ronnie clenches her hand closed around it and says, “But I don’t want to.”

Jack has no idea what to say now. He can’t tell her to just keep it if she wants to, that’s not his decision to make, and he sure as heck doesn’t want it back.

Before he can say anything, Ronnie says, “I could never figure out why I kept this for so long...until now.”

Jack stands there frozen. He’s hoping that if he doesn’t move she won’t see him and forget that he’s there and won’t finish her thought.

“Do you know why?” She asks, looking right at him.

Darn, she still sees him.. “I think you’ve been drinking too much.” Jack says instead, attempting to redirect the conversation.

Ronnie smiles slightly and says, “No, if anything it’s helped me see things more clearly.”

“If that were the case, you wouldn’t have driven my truck over here and wrecked it.” Jack says dryly.

“I am sorry about that but,” she says, clutching the emerald tighter, “I’m really glad I’m here now, with you.”

“Ronnie,” Jack starts, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

“I kept this for so long,” Ronnie says, interrupting Jack, “because I'm still in love with you.”

Oh boy, this is where he was afraid she was going with all of this, but was hoping she’d never get there. “Ronnie, you’re not in love with me.” Jack says, shaking his head slowly.

Ronnie sets the necklace down on the table, stands up, and takes a step towards him and says, “Yes, I am. It’s all so clear now.”

Jack backs up a step and replies, “No, it’s not, this is just the alcohol talking.”

“No,” she says, adamantly shaking her head back and forth, “it’s not. Think about it Jack, it’s the only thing that makes sense.”

“Oh, I’m sure there’s another explanation.” Jack says, now feeling really uncomfortable.

Ronnie smiles patiently at him and says, “The day we broke up, when I left, that’s the thing I’ve regretted most in my life. I’ve wished for so long that I could go back and do things over. To have you back. Now I can.”

Confused, Jack asks, “What are you talking about?”

Ronnie chuckles a little and takes Jack’s hands in hers and says, “Don’t you see? Everything that’s happened in my life has led me back to you. We have another chance to be together.”

“No, no we don’t.” Jack says, pulling his hands free, then adds, “Besides, we’re both with other people.”

Ronnie snorts and steps closer, “Do you honestly think they’ll be coming back?”

“I certainly hope so.” Jack replies immediately.

“Jack, face it, we’re free of them, now we can be together, just like we were supposed to be.” Ronnie says, looking at him hopefully.

Jack shakes his head and backs up, hitting the wall and says, “Look Ronnie, whatever it is that you’re feeling, or think you’re feeling, it’s not real. You have a husband, and kids. Even if I were willing to go along with,” he waves his hands between them and finishes, “this, you couldn’t do that to your kids. Besides, I’m in love with Sam.”

“Sam is a big girl, she will be fine without you.” Ronnie says flatly.

“I won’t be fine without her.” Jack says sternly.

“And my kids will love you.” Ronnie says, completely ignoring him, “You can teach Luke how to play the guitar, he’s named after you, you know.”

“What?” Jack exclaims, horrified.

She chuckles, “His middle name is Johnathan.”

“Does Mark know that?” Jack asks, suddenly feeling violated.

Ronnie laughs out loud at that and walks over to him, pinning him against the wall, she puts her hand on his chest, looks at him and says, “Of course, Mark knows what his son’s name is.”

Jack pushes himself against the wall as far as he can get and he really wishes he had one of those Tollen devices that would allow him to walk through the wall right about now. How could she possibly have named her son after him, who does that?

“Are you completely nuts?” Jack says, trying to push her away from him. “You don’t name your child, a child you had with another man, after an ex lover. That’s just...wrong.” Jack says, screwing up his face.

“Oh relax,” she starts, slapping his chest playfully, and finishes, “he’s also named after an old friend of Mark’s who died in a boating accident.”

“That’s not the point.” This time he grabs her wrists and physically pushes her back a few steps.

Undeterred, Ronnie steps right back into his personal space and says, “The point is that he’ll love you, and so will Aubry.”

“No, Ronnie,” Jack starts, only to be interrupted.

“I love you Jack.” She insists, and tries to pull him closer.

He’s not sure how, but somehow Jack managed to push himself up against the wall even more and put his hands up in front of him to halt Ronnie’s forward progress. He gently rests his hands on her shoulder and says, “Ronnie, stop, this isn’t going to happen.”

“Why?” She asks, feeling desperate.

“Because, I’m not the one you really want.” Jack explains. 

“Yes you are, we can have the future we always dreamed of.” Ronnie says. She can’t understand why he’s being so difficult. 

Jack tightens his grip on her shoulders and looks her in the eyes, he really wants her to understand what he’s about to say, “Ronnie, you’re upset, and you don’t know what you’re saying.” He takes a breath, really hoping that what he says next will come out right, “And you and I,” he waves one hand between them, “we had our shot, and it didn’t work. We tried for four years to make it work and it didn’t. I’m sorry, Ronnie, but you’re my past. Sam is my present, and my future.”

“You really think she’ll come back?” Ronnie asks, tears flowing freely now.

“Yes, I do.” Jack says, and is happy that he actually believes it.

“You saw how she left here, there’s no reason to believe that she’ll give you another chance, besides, Mark told her to end things with you. You know Sam, she’ll make the sacrifice.” Ronnie retorts, looking Jack firmly in the eyes.

Jack nods, “Maybe, but I’m willing to wait for as long as it takes.”

Ronnie looks at Jack in complete amazement and asks sadly, “You really are in love with her, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am. And you and Mark will work things out too, but not if you keep thinking you’re in love with me.” Jack says pointedly.

Ronnie gasps and covers her mouth with her hands and says, “I need to get out of here.” She turns and crosses the room and grabs her bag, the one she had come over for in the first place, and heads for the door.

Jack steps in front of her and asks, “Ronnie, where are you going to go?”

“I don’t know, I just need to leave, now.” She says. 

“Ronnie, I can’t let you leave like this, especially if you don’t even know where you’re going to go.” Jack says. He really doesn’t want her to stay here, but he keeps that to himself.

Ronnie starts feeling herself get angry now and she shouts, “Get out of my way Jack. You don’t want me, so I’m leaving.”

“How about you go sit down, I’ll make some coffee, and you can sober up. Then we can figure out what to do.” Jack suggests.

After a moment of hard stares, Ronnie finally gives in and does as Jack asked. He watches her sit on the couch before he goes into the kitchen to make the coffee. This is a disaster, he thinks to himself. While he waits for the coffee to finish, he tries calling Sam again, still no answer. She’s ignoring him, that’s not good. He meant what he said to Ronnie though, about waiting for Sam, no matter how long it takes. Sam is unlike any woman he’s ever been with. From the moment he laid eyes on her, she had him captivated. He knew way back then that he was going to marry her someday, and even though things are uncertain now, he still holds out hope, he just might have to wait a little longer. 

He wanted to propose on their first date, but he didn’t think she was ready to say yes at that point. They were still recovering from their ordeal on the ice planet and those memory stamps. They had to sort out who’s feelings they were really feeling, Jonah and Thera, or Jack and Sam. Though Jack already knew, he felt that way about her long before they were even on that planet, all the memory stamp did was give him an opportunity to express those feelings. 

Sam, though, is a more cautious person. He has always been confident that she will say yes when he does propose, but now, after everything that happened, his confidence has wavered a bit. At this point, he’s not even sure what future they still have, if they have a future at all. He loves her though, and he really will wait for as long as necessary, she’s worth it.

When the coffee pot declares itself done, Jack pours some in a mug and brings it out to Ronnie. However, when he reaches the living room, she’s sound asleep. Jack sighs and looks at his watch, it’s now after 2100, he cannot believe it’s so late. He resigns himself to the fact that Ronnie is probably staying the night, so he goes to the closet and grabs a blanket and puts it over her.

Jack sets the mug of coffee down on the coffee table in case she wakes up, then he retreats into his room. Jack looks at his phone again wishing Sam would call him back. She’s probably at Doc Frasier’s he figures. He could call the Doc’s house, but if Sam wanted to talk to him she would have responded to his calls. He then gets another idea. He picks his phone back up and calls Daniel and tells him to come over and to bring an overnight bag. After a few protests from Daniel, Jack tells him that he really needs him to come and that he’ll explain things once he arrives.

* * * * * *

Daniel is irritated when he hangs up the phone after talking to Jack. Why would the man possibly want him to come over right now? It’s not like Jack to call him up and invite him for a sleepover. However, Jack did sound a little desperate so Daniel does what was asked of him and packs an overnight bag and drives over.

It’s dark when Daniel arrives at Jack’s house, about 20 minutes after being summoned. Daniel parks his car in the driveway and walks to the front door. 

Before he can knock though, Jack swings the door wide open, grabs Daniel’s shirt, and pulls him inside saying, “Good, you’re here, took ya long enough.”

“I came as fast as I could,” Daniel says, shooing Jack away from him, feeling even more irritated now.

Daniel steps around Jack into the living room and sets his bag down, he glances at the couch and freezes, still half bent over. After just a moment, Daniel stands straight again, looks from the couch to Jack and back again and asks, ‘Uh Jack, why is there a woman sleeping on your couch?”

“That’s what I need your help with,” Jack says, gesturing over to the sleeping mass on the couch.

“Why is there a woman on your couch anyways?” Daniel asks again in a whispered tone, then another thought strikes him and he asks, “Who is she?”

“That’s Ronnie,” Jack states flatly.

“Who?” Daniel asks, confused.

“Sam’s sister-in-law, Mark's wife.” Jack replies as if it should have been obvious.

Daniel looks taken aback at that and asks, “What is she doing here? And where is everyone else? And I thought you said her name was Onica.”

“Mark is apparently in Denver and Sam is at Doc Frasier’s,” Jack says, then adds, “I think.” At Daniel’s questioning look Jack sighs, “It’s a long story.” 

“So what exactly am I supposed to do?” Daniel asks.

“Stay here so I’m not alone with her.” Jack says, as though it should be obvious.

“Okay,” Daniel starts slowly, then finishes by asking, “so why call me? Why not call Sam?”

Jack looks down at the floor and says quietly, “She’s not exactly talking to me right now.”

Daniel stares at Jack for a moment, “What in the world happened?” The last Daniel was aware, everything was fine with Jack and Sam. Shoot, Daniel had just seen Jack earlier that morning and things seemed to be fine, and Sam was definitely talking to him then.

Jack sighs and motions for Daniel to go into the kitchen. Once there, Jack tells Daniel the story, though he leaves out a few details...namely getting punched in the face by Sam’s brother. He’s thankful that the split lip wasn’t that bad and the shiner he thought he was going to have never actually developed. He had noticed that after being in the sarcophagus the first time, minor wounds seemed to heal faster. The doc said it could have something to do with the sarcophagus mixed with his ancient gene. He’s not really sure, but at the moment he’s grateful. It’s less to explain to Daniel right now. 

When he’s done talking, Daniel is looking at him with his mouth hanging open and asks, “You were engaged before Sara?”

“That’s not really the point, Daniel.” Jack says, rolling his eyes. Of all that he just told Daniel, that’s the thing that stood out the most? 

“Sorry, I just didn’t expect that.” Daniel replies, then adds, “This is a mess.”

“Ya think?” Jack says, shortly.

“So, is Mark coming back?” Daniel asks.

Jack throws his arms in the air and says, “According to Ronnie, he changed his flight and is now leaving out of Denver.”

“Wow, that’s crazy. What about Sam? Is she coming back before Ronnie leaves?” Daniel asks, looking at Jack carefully.

Jack looks down and shakes his head and says, “I don’t know Daniel. She won’t return my calls.”

“I’m sorry.” Daniel says, his earlier irritation dissipating. He can see the distraught look on his friend’s face and can tell that he’s worried about how all of this will play out.

“What do you need me to do?” Daniel asks.

“Just stay here and take her home in the morning.” Jack replies.

Daniel nods, “I can do that. Are you going to go over to Janet’s and talk to Sam?”

Jack thinks for a moment, then says, “No, she obviously doesn’t want to talk to me. Besides, my truck is wrecked and I no longer have a driver’s license.”

“What?” Daniel asks.

Jack sighs again and after he’s finished explaining that part of the story, Daniel says, “Well, this keeps getting more and more complicated.”

Jack runs his hands through his hair and down his face and growls, “I know.”

“I think you should go talk to Sam.” Daniel says, after taking a moment to think.

“She doesn’t want to talk to me Daniel. I’ve called her a couple times and she won’t call me back. Besides, if I get stopped on my way over, it wouldn’t be good.” Jack says, sounding defeated.

“Maybe she’ll answer if I call.” Daniel says, pulling out his phone and starting to dial.

Jack snatches the phone from his hands and says, “No, way.”

“Do you want to talk to her or not?” Daniel asks, feeling irritated again.

“Of course I want to talk to her, but if you call for me…” He pauses after that.

Daniel looks at him incredulously and asks, “What? It’ll make you look desperate or something?”

“She’ll call when she’s ready to talk, so just leave it, will ya?” Jack says in a harsh whisper.

Daniel puts his hand up in front of him and says, “Fine, fine, I’ll just stay here and babysit then.”

Jack narrows his eyes at Daniel, hands him back his phone, and says, “I’m going to bed, you can take the guest room.”

Daniel watches as Jack leaves the room. He’s concerned about his friend, and he really doesn’t know how everything will work out. What a mess of a situation. Daniel has known how Jack and Sam feel about each other for some time now, and was really glad when they finally got the chance to actually be together. He would really hate to see it end because of this, but, what a triangle. Jack and Ronnie, and Jack and Sam, that has got to be really uncomfortable for everyone involved. 

Daniel looks at his phone, he thinks about calling Sam, there’s no reason she wouldn’t answer his call. He debates with himself, this really isn’t his business, but that has also never stopped him from getting involved. Daniel stands there for a few more minutes trying to make his decision. Ultimately, he decides not to call Sam, if it wasn’t for the fact that there was a woman sleeping on Jack’s couch, however, he would. He doesn’t feel it’s his place to explain that to Sam. Daniel sighs and goes back to the living room to get his overnight bag and heads off to the guest room.


	16. Sober again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to mention last week that Officer Carlson is named for my bestie, positivelythatredheadgirl aka Scarlette Ash, she helped me edit this story and listened to all my crazy ideas for it, so I wanted to give a shout out to her and a huge thank you because she was the one who encouraged me to write it in the first place. Also thank you to everyone who is reading this story and reviewing, it means a lot to me!

Chapter 16: Sober again

Jack awoke to a sound coming from the living room. With his training, he was instantly on high alert. He grabs his pistol from the drawer on the side table by his bed and stealthily makes his way towards the noise. There’s no lights on, but he can tell that the noise is coming from the kitchen. Jack silently approaches the entryway to the kitchen, holds his gun in the ready position, and flips the light switch on.

“AHHHHHHHHH.” Ronnie screams when the light suddenly turns on and she turns to find a gun pointed at her.

“Oh geez.” Jack says as he quickly lowers the gun and flicks the safety on. He had forgotten she was here. Actually, his last thought before falling asleep was that he would wake up to find he’d been having a horrible nightmare. He must have subconsciously convinced himself that it was true.

“What are you doing pointing that thing at me?” Ronnie says breathing hard, heart beating out of her chest.

“I’m sorry.” Jack replies. 

“Well, would you mind putting it away?” She asks, turning around and fiddling with the coffee maker.

Daniel enters the room and asks, “What’s going on in here?”

Ronnie starts again and asks, “Who are you?”

“I’m Daniel Jackson.” Daniel says diplomatically, extending his hand.

Ronnie takes a couple deep breaths, calms down, takes the offered hand, and says, “Oh, right, I recognize you from some pictures Sam sent. I’m Veronica Carter, everyone calls me Onica.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” Daniel replies. He looks over at Jack, sees the gun and asks, “Jack, what are you doing with that?”

Jack just glares back at him and quietly excuses himself back to his room to put the gun away.

When he comes back to the kitchen, Daniel and Ronnie are drinking the coffee she had made.

“I fixed you a cup.” She says, indicating the cup sitting on the counter.

“Thanks.” Jack says in reply.

As she stands there, Ronnie starts thinking about the previous night. What was she thinking saying all those things? She feels utterly embarrassed. If Mark ever finds out, he’ll never take her back. She has to make this right. The more she thinks about it, the more she wishes she could just disappear.

Daniel looks between Jack and Ronnie, or is it Onica? He’s not really sure. She introduced herself as Onica, but Jack said her name is Ronnie, whatever, it’s too confusing. It’s well known that Daniel is a skilled linguist, and he’s reading some pretty uncomfortable body language right now. The longer he stands here, the longer he feels like he’s an intruder. Suddenly, he wonders what exactly might have happened last night before he got here. 

Daniel walks over and refills his cup and says, “I think I’ll go drink this in my room.”

After Daniel leaves, Ronnie stands there for a few more moments then says, “So, he seems nice.”

“Yeah.” Jack says in reply.

“Is he here because of me?” She asks.

Jack looks at her and says, “I thought it would be a good idea to have someone else here.”

“Jack,” she starts quietly, “about last night, I don’t remember everything, but I remember enough. I'm so embarrassed.”

“About which part? Wrecking my truck or saying you’re still in love with me?” Jack asks, wryly. He knows he’s being a jerk, but after everything that happened yesterday, he doesn’t care. Because of her, his truck is a mess, his driver’s license is suspended, he has three tickets, and he may lose the love of his life.

Ronnie closes her eyes tightly, as images flood her mind. She had completely forgotten about the truck incident. She can’t recall every detail but she does remember hitting another car.

“I’m sorry, I hope it’s not too bad.” She says, looking guilty.

Jack narrows his eyes and replies darkly, “You backed into another vehicle going god knows how fast, and then you came barreling into my yard running over a ginormous shrub. The car you hit is probably totaled, and my truck is getting towed this morning, and it too, might be totaled. Not to mention the three tickets and suspended license I received on your behalf.”

Ronnie walks out to the living room and sinks into the couch, wishing she could go back in time. She didn’t mean to cause him this much trouble. “I’m sorry Jack, I’ll pay the tickets.” Then a thought occurs to her, “Wait, why did you get in trouble for what I did?”

“Because, when the officer showed up at my house, I told him it was my fault.” Jack sighs, following her to the living room and taking a seat in the easy chair.

“Why would you do that?” She asks, confused. Why would he take the blame for her after all the trouble she’s caused him? It doesn’t make any sense.

“Because, Ronnie, you were drunk. If I had told the cop about that, you would’ve been charged with a DUI. You’ve done stupid stuff like this before and if you didn’t have kids to think about, I would’ve told the cop the truth.” Jack replies.

She’s speechless, after everything that’s happened between them, he’s still looking out for her. A funny feeling starts in her stomach, and she looks at Jack with admiration. She smiles slightly as she realizes that this is what it could have been like had she married him. The two of them up early in the morning drinking coffee together, chatting idly about nothing. The smile vanishes as reality sinks in. She didn’t marry him, they aren’t up idly chatting about nothing. No, she left him and they each moved on with their lives, and now, here they are all these years later and he’s dating her sister-in-law.

“I should go.” Ronnie says suddenly. She loves her husband and kids, she knows she does, but sitting here with Jack is stirring up emotions she thought were long dead. She already said things last night that she shouldn’t have said. When she got up this morning she was sure that she hadn’t meant any of it, now though, she’s not so sure. The best thing she can do is to remove herself from the situation, before temptation takes over.

Jack, unaware of Ronnie’s inner thoughts, nods his head and offers, “Daniel can take you back to Sam’s house.”

“Thanks.” Ronnie says, quietly.

She should also call Mark, but she’s a little upset that he hasn’t called her. She thought he would have by now, but he must still be too angry she reckons. She pulls her phone out of her bag and sighs in frustration when she realizes that the battery is dead. Hope swells inside her, maybe he did call but her phone was dead so she didn’t get it. She wants to charge it, but her charger is in her suitcase at Sam’s house, so she’ll have to wait. 

Jack watches her for a moment, then goes to get Daniel.

Daniel makes his way to the front door, opens it and goes outside, and upon seeing Jack’s truck says, “Holy hannah, Jack, your truck is,”

Jack glares at him and Daniel stops speaking, and silently walks outside, leaving Ronnie and Jack alone in the entryway to his house with the front door hanging wide open. 

Ronnie turns to him and says, “I guess this is goodbye.”

Against his better judgement, Jack says, “I’ll take you to the airport this afternoon.”

“You don’t have to, I’ll just take a cab.” Ronnie says, shaking her head, then adds quietly, “Besides, I’ve caused you enough trouble.”

“It’s alright, Ronnie. I’ll get Daniel to drive.” Jack says, and wonders why he’s being so insistent. He doesn’t necessarily want to take her to the airport, he must just want to make sure that she does, indeed, get on the plane. 

“Alright, I suppose.” She acquiesces, then adds, “I’ll need to get there around noon.”

Jack nods and says, “I’m sure that won’t be an issue.” Then turning his head slightly, he asks in a louder tone, “Will it Daniel?”

Daniel whirls around and looks like a deer caught in the headlights and says, “What?”

“Dropping Ronnie off at the airport at noon.” Jack clarifies.

“Oh, yeah, sure, no problem,” Daniel stammers.

Ronnie smiles once more and heads out to get in the car. Jack watches them drive away, then shuts the door. He looks at his watch and sees that it’s after 7 now and figues the tow truck should be coming soon.

Sure enough, not even 10 minutes after they left, the tow truck shows up. The driver tells Jack that his truck probably doesn’t have a great future, but that’s just his opinion. He finishes loading the truck and takes it away, saying that someone will be in touch after it’s been assessed.

Jack watches it go, seems to be something he’s been doing a lot lately, watching people drive away. He closes the door and sighs, he really liked that truck.


	17. The end of the weekend

Chapter 17: The end of the weekend

Ronnie thanks Daniel for driving her as she exits the car and makes her way into Sam’s house. She immediately goes to her suitcase and pulls out her phone charger and plugs the phone in. After waiting a couple minutes, she turns the phone on and her heart flutters as she’s notified of a voicemail. She quickly listens, it’s Mark, saying that he wants to talk.

She checks the time, she can’t remember what time he said his new flight is leaving, but knows it’s sometime in the morning. She calls him, it rings once, twice, three times and goes to voicemail. Maybe he changed his mind and doesn’t really want to talk to her. She sits on the couch, not sure what to do with herself, Daniel said he’d be back by 11 to pick her up, so she has almost 4 hours to kill. She should call Tiffany and check on the kids, but figures it’s too early, as California is an hour behind Colorado. She’ll call Tiffany around 10, that would be 9 for her.

As she sits there, she starts thinking about everything that’s happened, this whole mess that she caused. All the things that she said to Jack last night, she can’t believe she did that. If he hadn’t turned her down, things would be much different now, though a small part of her is disappointed that he said no. That makes her mad, there should be no part of her that is disappointed that another man turned down her advances. She loves her husband, and that’s all there is to it.

She’s startled out of her thoughts by her phone ringing, she looks at the caller ID and sees that it’s Mark. She quickly picks it up and says, “Hello.”

“Hi.” Mark says in reply.

“I’m glad you called.” She says, not really sure what else to say.

“I tried to call you last night.” Mark states.

“I know, I got your message this morning. My phone had died.” She explains.

“You didn’t think to charge it?” Mark asks, sounding confused.

“I, uh.” She starts, but doesn’t know how to finish, how to explain why she couldn’t charge her phone.

“I tried calling the house phone too, but got nothing but the answering machine.” Mark says.

“Oh, uh,” she stammers.

“Please don’t tell me you were with him.” Mark says, feeling angry. After everything that happened, surely she wouldn’t go back to him.

“It’s not what you think Mark.” She tries to explain.

“It’s not what I think? You were with him, how can you say it’s not what I think?” Mark grinds out.

“I had left my purse at his house, my phone was in my purse. I went over to get it, that’s all.” She says, hoping that that sounds reasonable.

“Okay, so why didn’t you charge your phone as soon as you got back then?” Mark questions.

She takes a deep breath and says quietly, “I, I had been drinking, and I wasn’t thinking straight.” Then more quickly she says, “ I slept on the couch, and there was someone else there too.”

“Sam was there?” Mark asks, shocked, he can’t believe his sister would go back over there, especially after what went down.

“No, no, not Sam, another friend, Daniel Jackson.” She clarifies. 

After a moment of silence, Mark says, “I can’t say that I like the fact that you spent the night at his house Onica.”

“I know Mark, I’m sorry. I didn’t intend to stay, honestly.” Onica says in earnest.

“I guess we can add that to our list of things to talk about.” Mark says after a moment, then adds softly, “I’m sorry for leaving.”

Onica closes her eyes to try and hold back tears. She had been hoping to hear something like that but didn’t think that she would. Maybe he has forgiven her, or maybe he’s open to forgiving her. Either way, she is so happy that he’s making an effort. Though she doesn’t feel worthy, and she’s sure that it will take time before things are back to normal for them, she's glad for this start.

“You had every right to leave Mark, this is all my fault.” She tells him.

“Things got complicated that’s for sure, but I shouldn’t have left. Look, um, I’m standing in the middle of the airport and it’s pretty loud, can we talk about all of this when we both get home?” Mark asks.

A huge smile crosses her face as she says, “Of course Mark, of course.” Then after a moment, and feeling kind of brave, she adds, “I love you Mark.”

“I love you too Onica.” Mark says in reply.

After they hang up, Onica feels her smile fade. Has she just lied to Mark again? No, she’s sure she loves him, and she does want to work things out. She also can’t help but to think about Jack, she still feels something for him. Onica knows that a future with him is not even a possibility though, he’s made that very clear. She has to stop this nonsense, Mark is her husband, they have two kids and a nice life. She chose Mark, and she doesn’t regret that choice. Though, she only chose him because she had messed things up with Jack too badly to have a chance with him again. That, and Jack had already married someone else. She just can’t help this feeling that she’s settling, and that makes her feel even more guilty. 

She didn’t have these thoughts before Jack was in the picture again. Before then, she was happy. Ever since she heard Sam say his name a couple of years ago, she started remembering everything she had made herself forget. Now that she’s seen him though, spent time with him, all she feels is conflict. This confusion is almost overwhelming. 

“I am not in love with Jack O’Neill.” She says out loud. Though she can’t help but think that it sounded more like a question. 

It doesn’t matter, she reckons, she will be home soon and Mark wants to talk. That’s what she’ll focus on. Her kids deserve two parents that love each other, and that’s what they’ll get. Though a small part of her is envious of Sam, because she has Jack chasing after her. She remembers when Jack chased after her. No, she must stop this, she can’t afford to think like this, it will only lead to further disaster .  
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It was good to hear her voice, Mark thinks to himself. He does miss her, and he meant what he said, he shouldn’t have left. He wishes he could see her now, but he’ll have to wait until she gets home. Her flight leaves shortly before 3pm so she should land around 5:30 or so. He’s leaving their car at the airport for her, so she doesn’t have to worry about taking a taxi, so she should get home around 7pm. He knows they have a lot to talk about and work out, and he’s really hoping they can work it all out.

Though, she spent the night at his house. Under no circumstances was that alright. He understands that she left her purse at his house, and she did say that she had been drinking, but did she have to stay all night? That part doesn’t make any sense. She could have gone back in a cab, after all that’s how she had to have gotten to his house in the first place. At least Jack had the common sense to have someone else come over. 

Mark stops himself, he’s getting angry and blaming it on Jack. He had just been talking to Pete the night before and realized that this mess isn’t Jack’s fault. He’s just been blaming him for so long that it comes naturally. Well, this situation might not be entirely his fault, but he’s definitely part of it, and Mark doesn’t have to be his best friend.

He hears the boarding call for his flight, so he gathers his suitcase and lines up. He’s already called Tiffany, the babysitter, to let her know that he was coming early, though he didn’t go into detail. 

He’ll be home in a couple hours, so he’s got that long to figure out what to say to his kids as to why their mother isn’t there. He really doesn’t want his kids to know about what all happened here this weekend, they don’t need the stress and worry. Mark sighs and boards the plane and finds his seat, stashes his carry on and buckles himself in. He can’t wait to get home and start working on putting this weekend behind him.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

After Daniel drops Ronnie, or Onica, he’s really not sure which, off at Sam’s house, he heads back over to Jack’s. What a crazy situation, he still can’t believe that Jack was engaged before he met Sara. And to Sam’s sister-in-law no less. He shakes his head at the mayhem. He feels bad for his friends though, he knows how they feel about each other, and how long they’ve waited to be together.

Daniel pulls into the driveway and notices that Jack’s truck is gone, the tow truck must have come, he reasons. He parks and heads for the door.

“Honey, I’m home.” Daniel says as he enters the house without knocking. He proceeds into the living room where Jack is sitting on the couch, glaring at him.

“Very funny, smart alec.” Jack says, rolling his eyes.

Daniel sits in the easy chair and asks, “So, what do you want to do for a couple hours?”

“Nothing Daniel, nothing.” Jack replies, closing his eyes.

“How’s your truck?” Daniel asks, changing the subject.

Jack peeks at him and says, “The tow truck driver thinks it’s a lost cause, but I’ll find out for sure after it’s been assessed by the adjuster.”

“What about your license?” Daniel asks.

“What about it, Daniel?” Jack asks, irritated.

“What are you going to do?” Daniel questions.

“I was going to ask you for a ride to work.” Jack says, flatly.

“Have you talked to Sam?” Daniel asks, changing the subject again.

Jack just looks at Daniel, and that’s all the answer he needs and says, “You should call her Jack.”

“I told you, she’ll call when she’s ready to talk.” Jack says, softly.

“Yeah, but you know Sam, sometimes she needs a little push.” Daniel says by way of reply.

“I’m not pushing her Daniel, if I push then things could get worse.” Jack answers him.

“Okay, I’m just trying to help.” Daniel says, defensively.

They sit there in silence until it’s time to head out again, Daniel only hopes that things work out for his friends.


	18. Airport mistake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has left kudos and a review, I truly appreciate that. This story is wrapping up in the next few chapters but I'm working on a follow up so don't expect everything to get resolved just yet. :)

Chapter 18: Airport mistake

“Good morning Sam.” Janet says as Sam descends the stairs.

“Good morning.” Sam replies.

“You sure seemed to sleep late.” Janet observes.

“Actually, I didn’t really sleep at all.” Sam admits, then asks, “Where’s Cassie?”

“Still in bed, she was up late on the phone with Dean.” Janet says, then adds, “She’ll be up around 11:30 or noon.”

Sam smiles softly, the joys of young love. Her smile fades as she thinks about how much she and Jack talked on the phone before they were together. They would just call each other and talk for hours about nothing. Things with him had always been so easy, so comfortable, so right. 

Janet watches Sam, she’s worried about her, about the situation that she’s in. She asks, “Did you talk to Jack?”

Sam looks at her, then back at the floor, then she takes a seat on the couch before answering, “No, he called a couple times, but I needed to think.”

“Have you made any decisions?” Janet chances.

“I think I need to talk to him before anything is decided for sure.” Sam replies.

“When are you planning to talk to him?” Janet inquires.

“Today, maybe after lunch.” Sam says. She knows she’s putting it off, but she can’t help it, she doesn’t want to face it. She looks over at Janet and can tell that she knows too, though she doesn’t say anything. Janet is good like that.

Sam takes a deep breath and changes the subject to something inconsequential. Janet follows suit, knowing that conversation is over for now.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Time seems to pass quickly for Daniel. Once Jack stopped talking, Daniel started reading a magazine he had in his car. He was at a really good part when he had to put it down to go fulfill his car service job that fell on him. He really wants to know how they carbon dated that particular piece without knowing its origins. Ever since he started going through the Stargate, he realized how ignorant he really was, and how ignorant all of his fellow archaeologists still are.

They drive over to Sam’s house in silence, Jack can tell that Daniel wants to say something, but for once, he keeps his mouth shut. What is there really to say anyways? He knows that Daniel has questions, questions that he doesn’t feel like answering. Questions he’s not even sure he knows the answers to. 

As they pull up in front of Sam’s house, Jack notes that the smashed car is no longer there. At least the insurance is jumping on that, the quicker they get that taken care of the quicker it can be over. Except that he still doesn’t have a valid driver’s license, for who knows how long. 

Ronnie comes outside a couple minutes after they arrive and she silently gets in the car. Silence seems to be the new normal.

“Thank you for driving me.” She says softly, almost so softly that Daniel and Jack can’t hear her.

“You’re welcome.” Daniel responds.

They arrive at the airport about 45 minutes later and Daniel finds a place to park in the drop off area. Ronnie gets out and after a moment, Jack gets out too. 

Daniel gives him a questioning look, to which Jack replies, “I’ll be right back.”

Daniel nods, though he doesn’t approve, he really hopes his friend knows what he’s doing.

Ronnie is nervous as Jack walks beside her into the airport. She’s sad to leave, but knows she has to. There’s nothing for her here, she knows that. Besides, Mark wants to talk, and she wants that too. Why does it sound like she’s trying to convince herself?

“You don’t have to walk me in.” She says, trying to distract herself.

“I want to make sure you leave.” Jack replies, he didn’t mean for that to come out sounding as harsh as it did, but after everything that’s happened, he doesn’t really care.

Ronnie shrinks back at Jack’s tone. She’s not sure why she keeps thinking there could still be something between them, he’s made it abundantly clear that there isn’t. She feels like such a fool.

“Of course I’m leaving, did you doubt that?” She asks.

“Well, considering what happened last night, I just want to be sure.” Jack says, reminding her of what all she said.

“I thought we were past that.” Ronnie states.

“Are you?” Jack resorts.

“Of course I am, there is nothing between us.” Ronnie says sternly, and just to prove it, she grabs Jack’s shirt and pulls him to her. When their lips touch though, she’s suddenly not so sure that she is over it.

It takes Jack a moment to realize what’s happening, one minute he was talking to her and the next she’s pressing her face into his. The real question is, why is his mouth moving in sync with hers? 

The kiss ends and they just stare at each other for a moment, breathing hard. Ronnie was surprised that Jack didn’t immediately push her away. She feels brave and leans in again, this time he does back away.

“Get on the plane.” Jack says, and walks away leaving Ronnie standing there.

How could he have allowed that to happen? That was not what he had intended when he walked in with her, but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t feel anything. Just what it is that he feels though, he’s not sure. Though that’s bad in itself. He doesn’t love her, though if he’s honest, he still finds her rather attractive. He groans when he realizes that he’ll have to tell Sam.

Ronnie stands there and watches Jack leave. What has she done? What was she thinking? She supposes that she was hoping to prove once and for all that she feels nothing for Jack, now though, she’s not so sure. He kissed her back, she hadn’t expected that. She touches her lips and closes her eyes. She grabs her suitcase and heads for the security check, on her way home to her husband and kids, all the while, feeling conflict waging inside of her. 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Jack gets back in the car and Daniel stares at him and asks, “What was that?”

“What was what?” Jack asks, feigning ignorance.

“I saw you Jack.” Daniel says, accusingly.

“It was nothing.” Jack replies, not looking at his friend.

“It didn’t look like nothing from here.” Daniel says, and puts the car in drive and heads out.

Jack is angry, angry at Ronnie for kissing him, angry at himself for kissing her back, and angry at Daniel for seeing it. Why was he watching anyways? How is he supposed to explain this to Sam? She’s already so mad about everything, this will surely make things worse. He’s probably going to lose her for sure now. He honestly had no intention of having any physical contact with Ronnie, maybe Sam will understand. Oh who is he kidding, he’s doomed.

Before he even realizes it, they are pulling into his driveway, and he sees Sam’s car parked there. She must be ready to talk now. He guesses this is it. He has to tell her the truth. Just as Daniel parks the car, Sam comes out of the house, she must have let herself in. Jack’s heart skips a beat at how beautiful she looks. He is so in love with her it’s not even funny. If they break up today, he’ll be single forever. Now that he’s been with her, he’s ruined for anyone else. All other women are second to her. She is everything, everything he’s always wanted and everything he never knew he needed. He knows in this moment that he will do whatever it takes to keep her, even if he has to get on his knees and beg. Even if she needs time and he has to wait, he’ll wait forever if she tells him he still has a chance, even a small unlikely one. Any glimmer of hope she might give him, he’ll take.


	19. Jack and Sam

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for all the kudos and reviews, they truly mean a lot to me :)

Chapter 19: Jack and Sam

After spending the morning with Janet and Cassie, Sam decides to head over to Jack’s house and talk to him. Both Janet and Cassie had wished Sam the best and had said that they hope everything works out. Sam still didn’t know what she was going to do, she never dreamed of being in a situation like this. She knows what Mark wants, and she knows how she feels. She loves Jack and wants to be with him, but how can she be? How can she possibly keep dating her brother’s wife’s ex fiancé? 

She pulls into Jack’s driveway and sees a mess in the yard, and a broken shrub, and wonders what happened. 

Sam parks the car and walks to the front door, she figures he’s not home but knocks anyways. After a moment and no answer, she pulls out her key and lets herself in. She’s had a key to his house for a few years now, and she has one to Daniel’s and they both have one to her’s and each other’s. They all decided that they should all have keys to each other’s places just in case of emergency. And of course Teal’c stays on base, so no key is needed.

As she walks inside, she glances around the room and sees something on the table just inside the door. She picks up the papers and looks at them. She feels kind of bad for snooping, but that guilt quickly turns to worry when she realizes that she’s looking at three tickets. One for causing an accident, leaving the scene, and one for reckless driving. Now her worry has turned into anger, what in the world was he doing? Then she realizes that his truck wasn’t in the drive so he must have gone to get it. He must have had an accident on his way back. He probably also saw Onica when he went to get his truck, seeing how his keys were inside her house. Now she’s just mad.

Before she can think too much on it, she hears what sounds like a car pulling up outside. She peeks through the curtain and sees that it’s Daniel’s car, and Jack is with him, he looks fine. She’s suddenly nervous, she thought she was ready to talk, even though she knew what she was going to say, now though, she’s not sure. She takes a deep breath and opens the door and walks out.

Sam stands there and watches as Jack gets out of Daniel’s car and slowly approaches her. She barely registers the fact that Daniel drove away.

“Hey.” Jack says.

“Are you alright?” Sam asks.

“I’m fine.” Jack asks, confused.

“I saw the tickets.” Sam clarifies.

“Oh.” Jack says.

“That’s all you have to say? Oh?” Sam replies, feeling irritated.

“It’s a long story.” Jack says, taking a few steps closer.

“Then why don’t we go inside and you tell me.” Sam says, and turns and walks back inside.

Jack follows her inside and watches as Sam sits down on the couch. She’s angry, he can tell. He promised himself that he would tell her the truth, so that’s what he’s going to do.

Jack sits down on the couch beside Sam, leaving enough space that they aren’t touching, she’s not moving away either. He takes a deep breath and tells her the whole story about Ronnie coming over with his truck and how he got the tickets, and about his license. 

Sam looks at him in surprise, the whole thing sounds implausible to her, but with them, stranger things have happened. Besides, he looks and sounds sincere. “I imagine Mr. Webber wasn’t happy about his car, he loves that thing.”

“No, he was not happy, which, I assume, is why he sent a police officer to my house instead of calling me himself.” Jack replies.

“Why did you take the blame for her? She’s the one who did it, she’s the one who should be paying the price.” Sam states, matter of factly.

Jack looks down and then, after a moment, looks directly at her and says softly, “I didn’t do it for her, I did it for the kids.”

“The kids? I don’t understand, what do they have to do with this?” Sam asks, quizzically.

“She probably would have been charged with drunk driving.” Jack says.

“I don’t mean to sound harsh, but that would have been her problem.” Sam retorts.

“That’s the kind of thing that stays with you for the rest of your life, even if it only happened once.” Jack explains, slowly.

“I can understand that, but we all have to pay for our own mistakes.” Sam says, still confused.

Jack looks down again at his hands and says, “My father was a drunk driver.” He gives a humorless chuckle and continues, “He was a drunk everything actually. Anyways, I was terrified to get in the car with him. Never knowing if that would be the time he killed us or someone else. No kid should have to worry about that when they get in a car with one of their parents, not if I can help it.”

Sam looks at him, shocked. She knows very little about his past growing up, but she’s discerned that his childhood may have been more difficult, but she never expected something like this.

She reaches for his hand and says, “I didn’t know that. I understand why you did what you did for Onica. Though I think this was an isolated thing, she’s never had an issue before.”

Jack looks her in the eye and says, “You didn’t know her before.”

“What do you mean?” Sam asks.

“When I knew her, she partied a lot, then again, she was only 18 when I met her.” Then after a moment, continues by saying, “We both did things. Anyway, I stopped before she did, partly because I didn’t want to get court martialed, and partly because I didn’t want to turn into my father. She stopped soon after I did.”

“Jack.” Sam starts.

“Needless to say, this isn’t the first time she’s been known to drive impared. There just weren’t any children involved back then, not that that made it alright.” Jack says, cocking his head to the side.

“Why did you tell me all of this?” Sam asks out of curiosity.

“Because, I don’t want to make the same mistake with you that I made with Sara and…” Jack says, letting the rest hang.

“What mistake is that?” Sam inquires.

“You may not want to hear this, but when I was with Ronnie, I never really let her in. She kept asking about things and I just thought she was being pushy, it led to a lot of arguments. With Sara,” he pauses for a moment, then continues, “her biggest complaint is that she never knew what I was thinking or feeling. When Charlie...I shut her out completely. Though it wasn’t until the divorce was final that she told me that if I had only talked to her we might have worked it out. That’s when I realized that I was the problem.” He looks Sam directly in the eye, “I don’t want to do that with you. I swore to myself that when we got together that things would be different. I want to be open and honest with you Sam.”

Sam squeezes his hand and says, “I appreciate that.”

Jack takes a deep breath and says, “It’s because of that, that I have to tell you,” Jack looks at her, then down at their entwined fingers, “Daniel and I took Ronnie to the airport and she kissed me, and I kissed her back.”

Sam stiffens, she knows she couldn’t have heard him right. It’s bad enough that he was engaged to her, and now he just confessed to kissing her. Sam slowly pulls her hand out of his, she has no idea what to say.

“Sam, I’m sorry, I never meant for that to happen.” Jack tries.

Sam looks at him like he’s gone mad and asks, “You didn’t mean for it to happen? Just what did you mean then, Jack?”

“It didn’t mean anything. I was just making sure she actually got into the airport and didn’t do something stupid like come back. I didn’t expect her to grab me, it happened really fast.” Jack explains.

Sam stands up and walks a few steps away, she’s so mad. How can he sit there and tell her that he kissed another woman, his ex fiancé no less, and that it meant nothing? She can’t decide if she’s more hurt, mad, or some other emotion she can’t find a name for.

She turns back around and asks, “If it meant nothing, then why did you kiss her back?”

Jack stands up and walks over to her and says, “We were standing in the middle of a busy airport, I didn’t want to cause a scene.”

“And you think making out with someone isn’t causing a scene?” Sam shouts.

“It wasn’t like that Sam. It was one kiss that didn’t last long. I’m sorry, it will never happen again,” he says, hoping she believes him.

Sam feels tears start to prick at her eyes as she says, “Yesterday, the two of you almost kissed right there in the kitchen, and you’re going to tell me that you didn’t mean to do it?”

“That was an entirely different circumstance Sam. Besides, I didn’t almost kiss her, she fainted, I was just making sure she was alright. I didn’t expect her to lean in like that.” Jack explains, trying to remain calm.

“All I hear right now is, ‘Onica leaned in, Onica grabbed me,’ you were there too Jack. When are you going to take responsibility for your own actions? If she really did grab you and kiss you, you certainly didn’t have to kiss her back. You chose to do that, so don’t blame everything on her.” Sam says, tears flowing freely now.

Jack is stunned, he hadn’t realized that he was shifting the blame from himself to Ronnie. He feels like he’s been sucker punched in the gut when Sam’s words sink in. He did choose to kiss her back. As soon as her lips were on his, he knew it was wrong, he could have stopped it. Instead, he was a willing participant. He really screwed up.

Jack reaches out for Sam’s hand and is heartbroken when she pulls it away from him, he says quietly, “Sam, I’m sorry. You’re right, I’m just as guilty. I hope you at least believe me when I say that I never meant for any of this to happen.”

After a moment of silence, Sam asks, “Are you still in love with her?”

“No.” Jack responds immediately.

“Do you have any feelings, whatsoever, no matter how small, for her?” Sam asks, hating the tremble in her voice.

Jack starts to deny it when Sam interrupts and says forcefully, “You promised to be open and honest, so tell me the truth.”

Jack pauses for a moment and considers what she said, he did promise to be honest, so that’s what he must do. “Honestly, I, I don’t know.”

Sam blinks back some tears and asks, “Do you want her back?”

“No.” Jack says with conviction, then adds, “There were a lot of unresolved things between us Sam. More than just my inability to share my feelings. She left me, for someone else and I never knew why. Back then, if she had come back, then things might have been different. Now, Sam I don’t want her back. I want you. I love you. No one else.”

Sam considers him for a moment, she wants to believe him, forget everything that happened and just sink into his arms. She always feels better when he’s holding her. Now though, he’s the reason she needs comfort. 

She always believed it when he told her he loves her, she could feel it and see it in his eyes. She’s questioning that now. How can he love her when he just admitted to kissing another woman? Another woman that, at one time, he was also in love with. Her brother’s wife no less. They’ve had some really strange things happen to them over the years, but this takes the cake. Sam feels as though her entire world has collapsed. She had it all planned out, she was going to move in with him, probably marry him at some point, maybe even start a family. She feels as though all of her hopes and dreams have gone up in smoke.

“You don’t kiss other people if you’re in love with someone else.” She says, her voice tight.

“Sam.” Jack starts.

“Mark told me to break up with you. That I can’t be dating his wife’s ex fiancé.” Sam says, more in control.

“I know.” Jack says. He wants to fix this, to make things right. But he doesn’t know how.

“I was willing to go against his wishes, but now…” She says softly.

Jack takes a step closer and says, “Sam, I’m sorry, please we can work this out. I’ll do whatever it takes to make this up to you.”

She looks at him sadly and replies, “I’m not sure there’s anything you can do.”

Feeling desperate, Jack says, “Sam, baby, I would change things if I could, but I can’t change the past. I can’t change the fact that, a long time ago I was engaged to Ronnie. I can’t change the fact that she married your brother. I can’t change the fact that I kissed her.” He takes a breath and continues, “I’m sorry all of this happened, I really am. I never expected her to show back up in my life after all this time, and I never meant to hurt you. Sam, I love you.”

“I know you can’t change things Jack. After thinking about things I understand now how you didn’t know that Onica and Ronnie were the same person. But you could have chosen not to kiss her.” Sam says, sadly.

“I admit, that was a mistake, a huge mistake that I will never allow to happen again.” Jack says, and he hopes she believes him.

Sam throws her hands up in the air and says, “And just how is this supposed to work? How can I possibly trust the two of you to be alone together, or even in the same room without worrying that there might still be some lingering feelings?” Then she asks, “Is she going to tell Mark about this?”

Jack looks down, he feels so ashamed. She has no reason to trust him, not after what he did. He looks back up at her and answers, “I don't know what she’s going to tell Mark, all I knew is that I was going to tell you.”

“And I appreciate that, I really do, but you have to understand that this is a very difficult position I’m in.” Sam says, looking very serious.

“I know, and I’m so sorry for putting you in it.” Jack responds.

“I get that it’s not all your fault, but I now have to choose between you and my brother. And like I said before your little confession,” she says, rolling her eyes, then finishes, “I was set to choose you, but now, how can I?”

“Sam, please, we can work this out, I know we can.” Jack says, feeling desperate.

“It was bad enough knowing the two of you had been together, knowing you told her that you loved her. And now, knowing that you kissed her, today, how can I ever look her in the eye again? Look my brother in the eye, or keep this from him if she chooses not to tell him? Or worse yet, what if she decides to leave Mark because she’s got it through her head that she can be with you?” Sam nearly shouts.

“I know, I screwed up Sam, believe me, I know.” Jacks says, running his hands through his hair, a gesture he’s been known to do when he gets flustered, then finishes, “There is nothing between me and Ronnie, I made that very clear.”

Sam pauses, then says, “You already admitted to still having feelings for her.”

“No, I mean, I didn’t mean that. I meant that, whatever there was between us, is over. Yes, there were still some unresolved things, but I have no desire to reignite anything with her.” Jack replies, then adds, “I’ll tell you what I told her, she’s the past, you’re the present and the future Sam, you. No one else.” 

“But what about her? Maybe you have a handle on things, but does she?” Sam asks.

“I don’t know Sam. I can’t control what she thinks or feels.” Jack reasons.

“But you can, at least partly. You kissed her back, that could have given her a glimmer of hope, made her start thinking things. Maybe stir up old feelings.” Sam says, sardonically.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what else to say.” Jack says, sounding defeated. He hadn’t considered how kissing her back might cause her to do something rash. He mentally kicks himself for not thinking about that, especially after all the things she had said the night before. There’s usually at least some truth to what a person says, drunk or not.

“Where does this leave us?” Jack asks, afraid of the answer.

“I, I think I need some time.” Sam says.

“Take all the time you need, I’ll wait.” Jack tells her.

Sam looks down as a couple tears roll down her cheek, then looks up and clarifies, “I mean that I think I need some time apart.”

Jack’s heart sinks at those words, “Sam.”

“I can’t be with you right now Jack. I need to think and I can’t do that as long as I’m with you.” She says, more tears in her eyes.

“Sam, don’t do this, please, I’ll do whatever you want, just tell me what to do and I’ll do it.” Jack pleads.

“Give me the space I need. Don’t come over, don’t call me, don’t talk to me, unless it’s about work.” Sam states, looking off to the side, trying to stop the tears that are threatening to fall.

“Sam.” Jack says, unable to believe what he’s hearing.

“You asked what you can do, I just told you. You’re still my commanding officer and I’ll follow your orders and show the proper respect your rank demands,” Sam says, firmly and quickly as she gets up and starts heading to the door.

“Sam, please.” Jack tries, getting up to follow her.

“I’m sorry Jack, this is the way it has to be,” she replies.

Jack can’t believe what is happening, this weekend was supposed to be fun and now, he’s losing the woman he loves. His heart is breaking and he only has himself to blame for it. 

He looks down at the floor and asks quietly, “Is this goodbye for now, or for good?”

“I don’t know.” Sam says sadly.

He looks at her for a moment, “Well, then I guess we’re all done here Major.” Jack says. He knows using her rank is a low blow at this particular moment, but he can’t help it. If he’s going to have any chance of surviving this then he has to put as much separation between them as he can, as fast as he can.

Sam is not pleased at hearing her rank, but it’s not unexpected either she thinks. She just nods and slowly makes her way to the door.

“Yes sir, I guess we are.” If he’s going to fall back on ranks then so is she. Then she turns back towards the door, and leaves.

Jack stands in that same spot for who knows how long. A couple of days ago everything was fine, great even. Now, it’s all turned upside down. The love of his life just walked out the door, and she may never be coming back. He wants to believe that she will, that they still have a chance, that she’ll forgive him. He knows one thing though, and that’s that he’ll never stop loving her, for as long as he lives. With that last thought, a lone tear makes its way down his cheek.


	20. The end

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise update! I'm updating early because I changed my user name and just wanted to inform anyone who may follow this story and I didn't want any confusion. Just the epilogue left after this...and then the second part hehe. Thank you for all of your lovely reviews, they truly bring a smile to my face

Chapter 20: The end

Once through the security line, Onica checks her ticket and makes her way to the terminal. She finds an empty seat and sits down. She can’t stop thinking about the kiss. She thought he would push her away or something, she never expected that he would kiss her right back. He didn’t even attempt to pull away. 

She tells herself that she needs to stop thinking about this. She’s married, she should not be thinking about how another man’s lips feel against her’s. What is she going to do? She should tell Mark, but what would she tell him? Tell him that she loves him and he’s the only one for her? Or tell him that she has another man on her mind? 

It’s not like she can leave Mark and run straight back to Jack. There’s no future with him, she knows that, he had made that fact abundantly clear. But can she stay with Mark when part of her heart belongs to someone else? Even if that ‘someone else’ doesn’t want it. It doesn’t seem fair to Mark.

Oh Mark, he’s been nothing but kind and considerate and loving towards her. He deserves so much better. And Sam, what has she done to her? They used to be so close, and now Onica doubts that Sam will ever speak to her again. Suddenly she wonders if Jack will tell her about their kiss. Will she tell Mark?

She decides that she needs a distraction from her own mind so she reaches into her bag and pulls out her cell phone. She finds the number she’s looking for and dials.

“Hey, Tiffany, how are you and the kids?” Onica asks.

“Oh hey, yeah, we’re all good. Mark called yesterday, said he was getting home early.” She replies, sounding a bit confused. Onica assumes Mark didn’t go into detail about things with her.

“Yeah, there was some mix up with our flights and he got bumped to an earlier one.” Onica explains.

“Oh okay, I hope your visit went well.” Tiffany replies.

“Any chance I could talk to Luke and Aubry?” She replies, trying to change the subject.

“Sure, I’ll call them in.” Tiffany says, then Onica hears her hollar the kids names.

“Mommy, mommy.” Both kids say at the same time.

“Hey babies, are you behaving for Miss Tiffany?” She asks them.

“Yes, we’ve had a great time.” Luke answers.

“Me and Maddie have been playing tea party and Miss Tiffany has been teaching me how to bake.” Aubry says, then adds proudly, “I made cupcakes.”

“That’s wonderful sweetie.” Onica says smiling.

“I’ll make some for you too when you get home mommy.” Aubry offers.

“That sounds wonderful.” Onica answers.

She talks to her kids for a few more minutes, then thanks Tiffany and promises to come visit after she gets home. That was just what she needed, hearing the voices of her children filled her heart. She loves those kids, no matter what happens with Mark, she will always have them. Her smile fades as she suddenly remembers telling Jack that her son was named after him. Why did she say that? Her son’s middle name is Jonathan but, she honestly hadn’t even thought about Jack when she and Mark decided on the name. Jonathan was Mark’s friend’s name.

Maybe she’s not really in love with him. Maybe just seeing him again after all these years confused her. That kiss though, she definitely felt something with that. She shakes her head and puts her phone back in her bag. While placing her phone in the pocket that it sits in, she feels something cool press against her fingers. She wraps her fingers around the object and pulls it out. He heart skips a beat when she sees that it’s the heart shaped emerald necklace. She saw it sitting on the table this morning when she woke up and put it in her bag. She gazes at it for a while, Mark will be angry if he finds out that she still has it.

She should just throw it away and be done with it, but she can’t bring herself to do it. She knows she can’t hide it, she can’t lie to Mark about it again. She looks at it for a moment more and places it back in her bag, she’ll figure out what to do with it once she’s home. Then her mind drifts back to the man that gave it to her. She thinks back to what he told her, maybe he’s right, maybe they weren’t meant for each other. Though a part of her thinks that they might have been. Maybe she was just too young when they met, maybe she wasn’t ready for such a huge commitment, maybe he wasn’t either.

Onica is so lost in her thoughts that she never heard the boarding call for her flight. It wasn’t until another passenger asked her if this was her flight too that she shook the thoughts from her head and got in line. She boards the plane, stows her carry-on and takes her seat, it’s a window seat. She glances at the seat next to her, the one Mark was supposed to be in, and wonders who will be there instead. She doesn’t have to wait long, a short chubby man plops down in the seat and starts slurping down a drink. Onica just turns and stares out the window, this will be a long flight.

The flight was, indeed, very long. The chubby man started crunching on chips then he fell asleep and started snoring. She was never so happy to get off of an airplane. She makes her way to the parking garage, Mark had told her that he would leave the car for her and that he would take a cab home, then use the car he normally drives to go get the kids. 

Onica gets in the car and just sits there. She has no idea what awaits her at home. This weekend went way worse than she had anticipated. Everyone is mad and miserable, and it’s all her fault. She wishes she had said something as soon as she realized that Sam’s Jack was once her Jack, this all could have been avoided. 

She thinks about that kiss again, she can almost still feel his lips on hers. She will have to tell Mark, this whole mess happened because she lied, she can’t do that again. She wonders how she’ll feel if Sam really does break up with Jack like Mark told her to do. 

With one last deep breath, she starts the car and puts it in gear and starts on her way home. She should have called Mark to let him know that she had gotten off the plane safely, but she was too scared. He had said he wanted to talk, but she’s not sure she’s ready to talk.

She thinks about Jack again, man he looked good. She wonders once more why he kissed her back if he’s so in love with Sam. A part of her is happy that she still has some power over him, another part is sorry for the hurt she’s caused. She thinks about Sam, they were so close, like sisters, and now it might all be ruined. She thinks about her children, she loves them so much and doesn’t want them to worry about their parents. She thinks about Mark, such a wonderful man. He’s given her so much, two beautiful kids, a nice comfortable life, all the love she could ask her. All she’s given him are lies.

Tears start to fall as she thinks about all these things. All the lives and relationships she’s damaged, or maybe destroyed. 

She was so lost in her thoughts that she never saw the light turn red, and she never felt the impact in the driver side door.


	21. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the final chapter of this story. I hope y'all have enjoyed it! I will probably take a couple weeks off before I start posting the follow up, which I still haven't titled lol. I have to finish writing it and go back and edit so that hopefully it's error free for the most part. Thank you to all who have read this story and made comments, that really means a lot to me! See you in a couple weeks...hopefully :)

Epilogue:

Jack was sitting on the back deck nursing a beer, trying to not think about all of his problems, when he got the call. He was surprised to see Sam’s name on the caller ID. She had just told him not to contact her for anything other than work, so he did not expect her to call him. For a moment, hope swelled in his chest that maybe she wanted to talk more and reconsider where they had left things. What she actually said though, was the last thing he expected to hear.

She told him that she had already spoken to General Hammond and was preparing to travel to San Diego. She promised to keep him informed of the arrangements. Jack felt numb at the news, how could this have happened? He had just seen her, just talked to her, and now...he can’t even bring himself to finish that thought. He wonders if this is his fault. He knew he had said things, hurtful things. He thought about what Sam said, about there being some truth in what people say, even while intoxicated. Ronnie had said a lot of things, and he had shot her down, but then he had kissed her. Had he given her hope to fuel that wild talk? Was she thinking about that when it happened? Or was she thinking about this mess of a weekend? He has so many questions, and now he’ll never get answers, no one will. 

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

It was a grey rainy day, seems fitting Mark thinks to himself as he sits in a chair under a tent-like cover. It’s been two weeks since he got the call. It took time to make all the arrangements and for everyone to make travel plans. Even his dad managed to pull himself away from whatever mission he was on. Sam had come out right away, she was a huge help, she took care of everything. Took care of the kids, received friends who came by with food and general well wishes, she even took the lead in making all the arrangements. Mark didn’t have to do a thing, which suited him just fine, as he didn’t feel like doing anything anyways.

He looks around at all the people gathered, it’s a nice turn out. Several of Onica’s friends came, ones that Mark has never met in person, only knew their names from stories his wife told him. He glances at the far edge of the crowd to where Jack O’Neill is standing. He travelled here with Mark’s father, he briefly wonders how awkward of a trip that must have been given his recent break up with Sam.

Sam had not gone into details about the break up, but Mark got the distinct impression that things were not all that good between them. He actually feels kind of bad, he is the one who basically ordered Sam to end the relationship. Sam had also mentioned that Jack was the one who took Onica to the airport, he was the last one to see her. He wants to ask Jack about that, but given the obvious tension between him and Sam, he’s a little afraid of what he might find out.

Of course, Sam won’t tell him, she’s barely speaking to him as it is. In fact, no one is really speaking to him these days, not even his kids. In fact, every conversation he has with anyone turns into an argument. Sam tells him to stop feeling sorry for himself, that he’s not the only one dealing with this loss. His father tells him that he understands what he’s going through, but Mark doesn’t want to hear that. Yes, his own mother also died in a car accident, but this is different, no one can possibly understand what he’s going through.

Mark is so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn’t realize the service had ended. Now he has to return to his home and host a reception, but he would rather be alone. Maybe if he stays in his room people will leave sooner. He glances over to his kids, his daughter has her face buried in Sam’s chest, and his son is with his grandfather. 

After a moment longer, Mark gets up and goes and sits in his car. He can feel Sam’s disapproving look boring into his back. He can’t bring himself to care. Once he’s situated in the back of the car, Mark reaches into his jacket pocket, pulls out a flask, and takes a drink. Another thing he’s been doing more of lately that his family has complained about.

After what seems like forever, Sam, his dad, and the kids finally come to the car. He briefly wonders how Jack is getting around, Sam told him about what Onica did to his truck, and how he lost his license because he took the blame for her. He chuckles humorlessly to himself, the day before she died, Onica totaled two vehicles. There was no one to take the blame the night she died though. She ran a redlight, it was as simple as that. He wanted to blame the guy that killed her, but he couldn't, it was her fault. He wishes that no one else had died that night because of her. A teenager in the car that hit her died too. Why had she been so reckless? She ruined everything, she lied to him about so many things, she caused Sam and Jack’s break up, and now she killed a child because she wasn’t paying attention. He’s so angry with her.

Mark is so angry when they get back to his house that he slams the car door and marches straight up to his room.

“He needs to get a hold of himself.” Jacob says to Sam.

“I’ve told him that, he won’t listen.” Sam says, feeling irritated herself now.

Sam hears a car pull up and when she looks over, she sees a couple people, she can’t remember their names, and Jack getting out. He met some old friends at the funeral and has spent time catching up with them. They had seemed surprised to see him there, Sam noticed. Even though she told him they could set aside their issues until after this trip, he’s still been respectful of the conditions she laid out when they broke up. She feels a flutter in her stomach at seeing him. She misses him, she misses him a lot, but she can’t dwell on that right now.

She turns back to the kids and her dad and they all walk in together, though she can’t help but notice that Jack hangs back, allowing more distance between them.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Jack is only halfway paying attention to the conversation he’s having with his old friends, Angela and Steven. He hasn’t seen them in years, not since he and Ronnie broke up, well actually, he last saw Steve and Angela at his wedding to Sara. It’s nice to see them, despite the circumstances, though he’s also keeping an eye on Sam’s whereabouts. He wants to make sure he doesn’t get too close. 

The flight here with Jacob was...interesting. He had expected Jacob to interrogate him, read him the riot act, give him the ‘you hurt my daughter, I’ll kill you and bring you back to life in a sarcophagus and kill you again ’ speech. Surprisingly though, Jacob was rather sympathetic and kind.

Jack has also noticed that Mark has been nowhere to be seen. He’s concerned about him. The one time he and Sam spoke at length, she told him that Mark has been secluding himself and yelling at everyone who comes within a few feet of him. She said the kids feel as though they’ve lost both parents.

Jack last saw Mark go out the backdoor, Sam hot on his heels. A few minutes later, Sam reentered the house, and whereas she looked calm, Jack could tell she was angry. No doubt she had another argument with Mark.

After most everyone leaves, Jack discreetly makes his way outside, he spots Mark in the gazebo and walks over slowly.

As Jack approaches, Mark says, “I told you to leave me alone Sam.”

“Good thing I’m not her then.” Jack replies.

Mark whips around and says, “Well I don’t want to see you either.” 

“That’s too bad, because I want to see you.” Jack says.

“Why? Just leave me alone.” Mark says through clenched teeth.

“I can’t do that Mark.” Jack replies.

“You know, Sam isn’t out here, you don’t have to come and try to make nice with me in an attempt to win her back.” Mark sneers.

“That’s not what I’m doing.” Jack answers.

“Then why are you out here?” Mark questions.

Jack looks down for a moment, then he looks directly at Mark and says, “Because I know what you’re going through.”

“No you don’t, no one does. No one can.” Mark says, looking away, then adds, “Just go away, you can’t possibly understand anything about this.”

Jack takes a moment to consider his words, then says carefully, “I understand that you’re angry.”

“Of course I’m angry, my wife is dead and now I have to raise two children on my own. If she had been paying attention, none of this would be happening now.” Mark shouts.

Jack stands there and calmly continues after Mark’s outburst, “You’re not angry at her.” Mark goes to interrupt again but Jack starts speaking again before he can. “You’re angry at yourself.”

“No, this is her fault. You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Mark scoffs.

“You’re angry at yourself.” Jack says again, then continues, “And you’re thinking that if you had been there with her, then she might still be here with you. You’re pushing away all of your friends and family, because subconsciously you want them to hate you. You think they should hate you because you hate yourself. Well I’m gonna tell you Mark, the further down this hole you go, the harder it’ll be to get out. And if you push everyone away, there won’t be anyone left to help you. It only gets darker and darker from here, and you don’t want to be all alone when you hit the bottom, believe me.”

Mark is silent for a moment, shocked and stutters, “How, how do you know all of that?”

“Because, I’ve been there and I did exactly what you’re doing now. I secluded myself, I picked a fight with anyone who tried to talk to me, I drank too much, I ignored my wife, I even quit my job.” Jack explains.

“What made you do all of that?” Mark asks.

“My son died.” Jack says softly, then adds before Mark can ask, “He shot himself with my gun. I left it out on the dresser and left the room, I wasn’t even gone five minutes. It was an accident, I know that now, but I still can’t help but to think that if I had taken the time to lock it up, my son might still be alive.”

Mark can’t believe what he’s hearing, what an awful story, then a thought suddenly occurs to him and he says, “It looks like you managed just fine.”

Jack shakes his head and replies, “That’s just it, Mark, I didn’t.”

“What do you mean?” He asks.

“I had no one to turn to, I thought that’s how I wanted it, but I was wrong. I allowed that self hatred to consume me, and I sunk deeper and deeper into that dark hole, and I had no idea how to get out.” He pauses to collect himself, it’s not easy for him to talk about this, but Mark needs to hear it, “I tried to get out the only way I could think of, so I put a gun to my head.”

Mark’s eyes go wide and he asks carefully, “You clearly didn’t do it, what stopped you?”

Jack smiles bitterly, “The Air Force came to my door and recruited me for a suicide mission, that seemed like as good a way to go as any. I can’t go into details but, I was willing to kill myself on the mission, along with the entire team that accompanied me.”

“Wow, that’s pretty bad.” Mark states.

“Yeah, obviously that didn’t happen and by the end of the mission I actually felt better. Until I got home and found my wife had left me, the divorce papers were sitting on the counter.” Jack pauses, then continues, “I had nothing left, so I made the attempt.”

Mark’s eyes go wide again and asks disbelivingly, “You actually tried to kill yourself?”

Jack just nods and says, “But that’s a story for another day, one I’ve never told anyone, not even Sam.”

“Why are you telling me then?” Mark asks, confused.

“Because, I don’t want the same thing to happen to you. You have two kids that need you Mark, a sister and father that love you, you don’t want to lose them.” Jack tells him.

Mark drops to his knees and sobs, “It’s all my fault, she’s gone because of me.”

Jack kneels down and pulls Mark into a hug and lets him cry on his shoulder. Jack is fighting back his own tears, it’s not easy talking about all these things, in fact, he tries not to. He tries to not even think about any of this, about how far he allowed himself to fall. As hard as he tries to stop them, the tears fall and he chokes out, “It’s not your fault Mark, it’s no one’s fault.”

“I don’t know what to do.” Mark cries, pulling on Jack’s shirt.

“Hug your kids, let Sam and Jacob be there for you, they lost her too, let them grieve with you.” Jack says, then pulls back and looks Mark in the eye, “And call me if you ever want to talk.” 

Jack pulls Mark back up against him, both men now have tears freely falling. Mark for the loss of his wife. Jack for the emotions of sharing such intimate details about his son and the aftermath, and for his break up with Sam, and for Ronnie. 

As they sit there crying together, Jack knows that Mark will be alright, and so will he, all in time.


End file.
